State and other delegations laid wreaths and lit candles at the town's Memorial Cemetery of Homeland War Victims to commemorate the Vukovar tragedy.
Wreaths were laid and candles lit by a delegation of the President of the Republic, led by Boris Sprem, a delegation of the Parliament, led by Speaker Vladimir Seks, and a delegation of the Government, led by Family Affairs, War Veterans and Inter-Generational Solidarity Minister Jadranka Kosor.
Tribute was also paid by delegations of the Ministry of Family Affairs, War Veterans and Inter-Generational Solidarity, war veterans' associations, the ministries of defence and the interior, the Armed Forces, Homeland War associations from Vukovar, Vukovar County authorities, the cities of Vukovar and Dubrovnik, and the OSCE Mission to Croatia.
The commemorations were attended for the first time by a delegation of the 204th Vukovar Brigade, which defended the city, led by its war-trime commanders Mile Dedakovic and Branko Borkovic.
After the wreath-laying ceremonies, a requiem mass for those who were killed or went missing in the war was held by Pozega Bishop Antun Skvorcevic, who said that it would be a tragedy for those who suffered in the war to become prisoners to hatred. "The greatness of Vukovar soldiers lies in the fact that they did not attack anyone or tried to take something away from somebody, but fought for their families and for their homeland".
The marking of the 14th anniversary of the Vukovar tragedy, which this year is being held under the slogan 'Where should I look for my son?', started this morning with a commemoration in front of the town hospital.
Participants in the commemorations then proceeded in a column through the streets of Vukovar towards the town cemetery, where state and other delegations laid wreaths and lit candles.
According to police reports, some 15,000 people from all over Croatia took part in the commemorations.
The battle of Vukovar started on 25 August 1991. Some 1,800 Croatian soldiers fought back much stronger enemy troops for three months, until 18 November, when the defence lines were broken. During the siege some 15,000 people lived in the town, which was hit by 8,000-9,000 shells every day. According to data from the town hospital, 1,642 people were killed and 2,557 wounded in the attacks, while 22,000 Croats and other non-Serbs were sent into exile after the fall of the town.
Five hundred and ten people from Vukovar-Srijem County are still listed as missing.