During the Bosnian War, the town was controlled by the Army of Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serbs) and remained under its control until October 1995 when the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina took over it during Operation Sana shortly before the end of the war. The Bosniaks and other non-Serbs were set to large ethnic cleansing during its control by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). Many Serbs from Sanski Most and Bosniaks from Prijedor exchanged homes due to their refugee status and the opposing federations.[4]
Vrhpolje Bridge Massacre
On 31 May 1992, the Army of Republika Srpska committed a massacre of 19 Bosniak civilians on the Vrhpolje bridge in Sanski Most municipality. 16 Bosniak civilians were beaten on the bridge whilst the Bosnian Serb soldiers insulted them. 4 had already been murdered by the VRS on the way to the bridge. The Bosnian Serbs had ordered the Bosniak civilians to remove most of their clothes, including their shoes, and then jump off the bridge. The Bosnian Serb soldiers played a game in which they would attempt to shoot the Bosniak civilians mid-air whilst they were falling into the water. There was only one survivor of the massacre, Rajif Begić, who later testified against Ratko Mladić. According to the ICTY trial, Ratko Mladić was responsible for the murder of the Bosniak civilians which the court found was a deliberate attempt to ethnically cleanse the Serb-controlled parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina of their Bosniak population in order to create a homogenously Serb ethno-state. According to Begić's testimony, the VRS had to kill 70 Muslims that day because "seven Serb soldiers had been killed in that area." Branko Basara, the retired commander of the 6th Krajina Brigade was also indicted by the ICTY for war crimes that he committed in the Prijedor and Sanski Most area during 1992. Jadranko Palija, a Bosnian Serb soldier responsible for the massacre, was convicted of war crimes by the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2007.[5][6]
There are several non-governmental organisations in Sanski Most. The Center for Peacebuilding (in the local language "Centar za Izgradnju Mira (CIM)) has been active in the town since 2004. The "Fenix Center" provides humanitarian aid to people in need in the local community. The organisation "Krajiška Suza" provides care in medical, social, psychological, cultural and existential needs of people living in and around Sanski Most. Austrian manufacturer of exhaust pipes Remus has a manufacturing facility in Sanski Most that employs around 300 people.[9][10] Sanski Most was selected as one of the most successful local communities within the UNDP project that was financed by the Swiss embassy.[11]
^"Sanski Most Climate Normals 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^Mojzes, Paul (2011). Balkan Genocides: Holocaust and Ethnic Cleansing in the 20th Century. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 75–76. ISBN9781442206632.
