Omarska
Encyclopedia
Omarska is a small town near Prijedor
Prijedor
Prijedor is a city and municipality in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Bosanska Krajina region....

 in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

. It includes an old iron mine and ore processing plant. During the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...

 it was the site of the Omarska concentration camp.

Recent history

Omarska camp
Omarska camp
Omarska camp was a concentration camp run by Bosnian Serb forces, in Omarska, a mining town near Prijedor in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, set up during the Prijedor massacre for Bosniak and Croat men and women. Functioning in the first months of the Bosnian War in 1992, it was one of 677...

 was a concentration camp run by Bosnian Serb forces in Omarska, set up during Prijedor massacre
Prijedor massacre
The Prijedor massacre, also known as the Prijedor ethnic cleansing or the Prijedor genocide, refers to numerous war crimes committed during the Bosnian war by the Serb political and military leadership mostly on Bosniak civilians in the Prijedor region of Bosnia-Herzegovina...

 for Bosniak
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...

 and Croat men and women. Functioning in the first months of the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...

 in 1992, it was one of 677 alleged detention centers and camps set up throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war. While nominally an "investigation center" or "assembly point" for members of the non-Serb population, Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...

 classified Omarska as a concentration camp.

Main Features

Municipal commonwealth of Omarska consists of Omarska town and 10 villages: Petrov Gaj, Kevljani, Lamovita, Bistrica, Verići, Niševići, Gradina, Jelićka, Krivaja and Marićka. Its geographical coordinates are 44°53'22.00"N 16°53'43.23"E. It has area of 246.73 km² and it is located 169m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

. Average temperature (over the year) is +12 degrees celsius
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...

. Average yearly rain level is 1200mm. Terrain of Omarska is mainly plains, 65% lowlands and 35% highlands.

Hydrography

River system in Omarska is very rich. Through the middle of Omarska territory runs river Gomjenica, which has great agricultural significance, because it runs through most fertile land in this area. Gomjenica is confluent of Sana
Sana
-Geography:* Sana'a, the capital of Yemen* Sana, Haute-Garonne, France, a commune in the Haute-Garonne département* Sana, Bhutan, a town in Bhutan* Sana, Greece, a village in the northern part of the prefecture of Chalkidiki...

. It infuses Sana in Prijedor
Prijedor
Prijedor is a city and municipality in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Bosanska Krajina region....

.

Population

Following data is outdated. On census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 of 1971. population of Omarska was 19.044 - 16.084 Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

, 2.198 Muslims, 376 Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 and 433 others. Average population density was 68 per km².

Education

There is one elementary school in Omarska, OŠ "Vuk Karadžić", which has about 800 pupils. Children from Omarska usually go to high schools in Prijedor
Prijedor
Prijedor is a city and municipality in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Bosanska Krajina region....

 or Banjaluka.

Sports

Omarska has a football club FK Omarska, which competes in 2nd League-West of Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...

.

External links

  • http://www.omarska.net, local site & forum
  • http://eko-omarska.org, local environmental movement's site
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