OPG (Operations Group)

OPG (Operational Group)
Active	late 1997
Country	Serbia
Type	Counter-terrorist unit
Role	Kosovo War
Equipment	Heckler & Koch
Commanders
Commander	Goran Radosavljević

The Operational Group (Serbian: Operativna Grupa; shorter: OPG) is a Serbian elite anti-terrorist unit.^[1]

It was created in Kosovo province. According to several former fighters, the OPG participated in some of the most infamous military operations in Kosovo, including Donje Prekaze, Račak and Cuska, which lead to serious war crimes.^[1] The OPG consisted of top police officers from throughout Kosovo and from Serbia proper. The unit was reportedly created in late 1997 and was trained in Serbia. A former Serbian secret policeman gave a detailed account of the OPG:

"There was a need for this unit because in certain actions (against the KLA/UCK) the regular police units had proved to be ineffectual and were suffering large casualties. The Red Berets (Serbian state special forces) were too busy to get involved in operations in the inner part of Kosovo but the police needed units for quick operations that could be carried out in complete secrecy."^[1]

The OPG wore different uniforms for different actions but they were best known for their black uniforms and their western weaponry. "They didn't use Russian or Yugoslav-made weapons, you know AK-47s. They had the most modern NATO weapons. It was impressive." OPG members were reportedly fond of Heckler-Koch machine guns.^[1]

Serbian police sources say the OPG was under the direct command of General Obrad Stevanovic, the commander of Serbia's special police force and one of Slobodan Milosevic's most important commanders.^[1] During the Kosovo war, Goran Radosavljević led Operational Group (OPG).^[2] The OPG was apparently part of the Interior Ministry's special antiterrorist unit (SAJ), which Gen. Stevanovic commanded. Founded in 1995 by General Radovan Stojicic-Badza, the SAJ was by most accounts the most elite unit within the Serbian Interior Ministry (excluding the Department of State Security). Following Stojicic's assassination in Belgrade, the SAJ recruited new members in Kosovo and expanded its size to as many as 1,000 men.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Serbian police units that participated in the Cuska massacre
2. ^ Prevent Genocide International

See also

• JSO (Special Operations Unit)
• SAJ (Special Anti-terrorist Unit)

External links

• Serbian police units that participated in the Cuska massacre