VUKOVAR REMEMBRANCE DAY TO BE MARKED ON MONDAY

VUKOVAR, Nov 17 (Hina) - Several thousand Croatian soldiers and civilians were killed, around 10,000 people were taken to Serb concentration camps and 22,000 Croats and other non-Serbs were expelled from their homes during the 1991 Serbian aggression on Vukovar. #L# According to the Croatian Association of Former Inmates of Serb Concentration Camps, 30-40% of those imprisoned in Serb-run camps were killed, while 620 people from Vukovar County, most of whom went missing during the occupation of Vukovar, are held missing. A commemoration marking the 11th anniversary of Vukovar's fall will be held on Monday. After a three-month siege and daily artillery attacks, the Serb aggressor entered the town on November 18, 1991. By that day the town had been defended by 1,800 soldiers of whom one third managed to escape, 500-600 were killed, while the others were wounded or imprisoned. During the siege of the town, Croatian soldiers destroyed around 300 Serb tanks and armoured carriers and took down 25 planes. It is estimated that the enemy lost 10,000-15,000 soldiers during the siege. Around 14,000 housing units and 118 monuments were destroyed in the attacks, as were all local businesses. Around 4,000 family houses and 2,000 flats have been repaired so far and official data note that 10,500 residents have returned to the town so far. The programme marking the 11th anniversary of Vukovar's fall will start with a commemorative meeting in front of the Vukovar hospital, after which participants will proceed in a column to the town's Memorial Graveyard, where they will lay wreaths. Attending the ceremony will be senior parliament and government officials, representatives of the President's Office, party leaders, and victims associations. (hina) rml