VUKOVAR ENDS MARKING TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL

VUKOVAR, Nov 20 (Hina) - Hundreds of residents of the eastern-most Croatian town of Vukovar on Tuesday paid respect to the victims killed at the nearby Ovcara farm by laying wreaths by a monument erected there in their honour. Two days after breaking down the town's defence on Nov. 18, 1991, the Serbian aggressor forced 261 wounded soldiers and civilians out of Vukovar's general hospital, viciously killing 200 at Ovcara. The rest are still listed as missing or detained. Senior officials of ex-Yugoslavia's federal army (JNA), Lt. Col. Mile Mrksic, Major Veselin Sljivancanin, and Captain Miroslav Radic, who ordered and executed the attacks on Vukovar, are believed to be responsible for the Ovcara crime. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague indicted the so-called Vukovar Three in December of 1997, but Yugoslavia has not extradited them yet. By paying tribute to the Ovcara victims today, Vukovar wrapped up marking the tenth anniversary of the town's fall. Parliament declared Nov. 18 remembrance day for the Vukovar tragedy, which, according to estimates, claimed the lives of between 1,700 and 3,000 soldiers and civilians, 22,000 residents were expelled, 7,000 were imprisoned in detention camps, and 760 are listed as missing. (hina) ha sb