Island of Šarengrad

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Island of Šarengrad (Croatian: Šarengradska ada, Serbian Cyrillic, pronounced [ʃǎreŋgratskaː ǎːda] or [-ǎda]) is a Danube river island situated close to the village of Šarengrad in Croatia. It covers an area of 9 km2 (3.5 sq mi). The old riverbed of the Danube caused problems for navigation due to its heavy bending in this area. In order to solve the problem, Austria-Hungary began digging a canal in 1892 to straighten the flow of the river. After 17 years, the Mohovo-Šarengrad canal was finally finished, and as a result the Island of Šarengrad was formed in 1909. During the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the island was part of the Socialist Republic of Croatia. During the Croatian War of Independence, Yugoslav People's Army and Serbian militia occupied the island. It was the opinion of the Badinter Arbitration Committee that the borders between republics should become the borders between the countries. In 1998, through the Erdut Agreement, Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia was reintegrated with Croatia. However, the Island of Šarengrad together with Island of Vukovar has stayed under Serbian military control. In 2002 the Serbian army opened fire from the island on the prefect of the Vukovar-Syrmia County, Nikola Šafer, and his escort which included four children in time when he was going for a meeting with his colleague from Serbia. This

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