REMAINS OF 14 BODIES EXHUMED NEAR GOSPIC

GOSPIC, May 16 (Hina)- The head of the government's Office for Detained and Missing Persons, Ivan Grujic, on Thursday said that exhumation proceedings in the Gospic area had been completed, and that the remains of 14 bodies were found of those killed during the "Storm" military operation in 1995. #L# The exhumation in the Rizvanusa region near Gospic was conducted under the observation of an investigative team from the Hague war crimes tribunal, an international commission for missing persons and representatives from Yugoslavia. According to information from the International Committee of the Red Cross, some 1,001 people went missing during the "Flash" and "Storm" operations, Grujic said. Asked whether the remains found in Rizvanusa were found in PVC barrels, Gospic County Court investigative judge Pavao Rukavina said the bodies were found in plastic bags and that the remains were decomposing. DNA will be conducted, Rukavina said, but added he believed the bodies were of elderly people, which can be confirmed by personal belongings found with them. Exhumations in Lika commenced about ten days ago. In the Korenica area the remains of 27 people were discovered. These were mostly the remains of Serb paramilitary forces. As announced, exhumations will soon continue in Gracac, Siroka Kula and some other towns in Lika. (hina) sp sb