arrival of Romans and their language to the Illyrian lands. It is also possible that ancient Illyrians or Romans named this place 'the place of heron(s), and the Slavic settlers, who settled in the former Illyrian lands around 6th century A.D. translated the name of this place into their language(s), which in turn gave 'Čapljina', "the place of heron(s)". The Prebilovci massacre, in which around 4,000 people (mainly Serbs) were killed total, including 300 villagers from the Prebilovci thrown into a pit, is one of the most significant atrocities in this area during the Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia. Out of about 700 villagers from Prebilovci, fewer than 200 survived. As a revenge, In 1942, the Serbian royalist Chetniks attacked several villages in the Čapljina area. The village of Hotanj was burned, and many Croat and Bosniak civilians were killed. The massacres were a part of the Chetnik genocidal campaign against non-Serbs. Since World War II it has been an important road and rail transportation link, connecting the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the port of Ploče in Croatia. During the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina the city was taken over by the Croatian Defence Council, which expelled the non-Croat population and set up concentration camps for Bosniaks at Gabela camp and Dretelj camp. During the summer of 2007 wildfires caused extensive damage throughout the rural part of the municipality. The officials of Čapljina, Stolac, Čitluk and Neum declared the state of natural disaster on their territories. Status In May 2019, the Municipality of Čapljina became an official city. Settlements Demographics Population Ethnic composition Culture In the Čapljina area, cultural associations include the following: HKUD Čapljina HKUD Sveti Ante (Dretelj) HKUD Seljačka Sloga (Trebižat) HKUD "Zora" Struge-Gorica KUD "Kolo Dubravsko" (Bivolje Brdo) Notable residents Dejan Aćimović (born 1963), Croatian actor Dragan Bender (born 1997), Croatian basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League Milorad Ekmečić (1928–2015), Serbian historian Mirsad Fazlagić (born 1943), retired Yugoslav footballer Nikica Jelavić (born 1985), Croatian footballer Vukašin Mandrapa (? - 1943), Serbian Orthodox saint Semjon Milošević (born 1979), retired footballer Slobodan Praljak (1945–2017), Croatian general, politician, and writer Admir Salihović (born 1988), Bosnian footballer Ivo Prskalo (born 1948), retired Yugoslav and Australian footballer Dada Vujasinović (1964–1994), Serbian journalist and news reporter Jasmin Repeša (born 1961), Croatian basketball coach Pamela Ramljak (born 1979), Croatian singer Marko Vego (1907–1985), Yugoslav archeologist,