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Doboj (Serbian Cyrillic Добој) is a town in northern Bosnia, situated on the river Bosna.
The first mention of the town dates from year 1415, although there are signs that the area was inhabited ever since the early stone age, and that the Roman Empire had an army camp (Castrum) and a settlement (Canube) in the vicinity dating from the 1st century. Following the arrival of the Slavs, during the Middle Ages it was part of the regions Usora and Soli.
The Doboj fort, first built in the early 13th century and expanded in the 15th century, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1476, only to be expanded yet again in 1490. As such, it was frequently attacked in the Austrian-Ottoman wars, and finally fell to the Habsburgs in 1878.
During World War I, Doboj was the site of the largest Austro-Hungarian concentration camp for Serbs. According to its official figures, it held, between December 27, 1915 and July 5, 1917:
- 16,673 men from Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly of Serb ethnicity)
- 16,996 women and children from Bosnia and Herzegovina (also Serbian)
- 9,172 soldiers and civilians (men, women, children) from the Kingdom of Serbia
- 2,950 soldiers and civilians from the Kingdom of Montenegro
In total, 45,791 persons.
By February 1916, the authorities began redirecting the prisoners to other camps. The Serbs from Bosnia were mostly sent to Gyor (Sopronyek, Šopronjek/Шопроњек).
Most of the interned from Bosnia were whole families from the border regions of eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is said that 5,000 families alone were uprooted from the Sarajevo district in eastern Bosnia along the border with the Kingdoms of Serbia & Montenegro.
Nobel-laureate Ivo Andrić was also an inmate of the camp.
During World War II, Doboj was an important site for the partisan resistance movement. From their initial uprising in August 1941 up until the end of the war, the Ozren partisan squad carried out numerous diversions against the occupation forces, among the first successful operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The town was liberated on April 17, 1945.
Prior to the Yugoslav wars, the Doboj district was inhabited by Bosniaks (then referred to as Muslims by nationality) (40.2%), Serbs (39%), Croats (13%) and 7.8% others. Today, as a result of Serbian ethnic cleansing, its population is almost entirely Serb. Non-Serb population is allowed to return, resulting from the pressure made by the international community, but they are still not presented with the equal opportunities.
Presently, a larger part of the city is part of the Doboj Region of Republika Srpska, while the southern suburbs are part of the Zenica-Doboj Canton of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the eastern subursbs are part of the Tuzla Canton. These parts are known as Doboj-South and Doboj-East respectively.
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