Early Tuesday morning, two unidentified men threw rocks at the family home of a 38-year-old returnee and assaulted two elderly Serbs in the village of Ostrovica.
The UNHCR said it considered these incidents isolated cases and described the security situation in areas where Serb refugees are returning as satisfactory. It, however, expressed concern about the frequency of attacks on returnees and their property.
Such incidents must not be tolerated, and the UNHCR believes that the competent authorities will take resolute steps against such attacks and that the police investigation will manage to identify the perpetrators and that they will be sanctioned accordingly, the statement said.
The UNHCR said it hoped that such incidents would not aggravate the overall situation in return areas, and expressed readiness to assist the Croatian government in resolving all outstanding issues relating to refugee return by the end of 2006 as laid down in the Sarajevo declaration of January 2005.