VUKOVAR REMEMBRANCE DAY MARKED IN EASTERN CROATIAN TOWN

VUKOVAR, Nov 18 (Hina) - The eastern Croatian town of Vukovar on November 18 marks Vukovar Remembrance Day. On 18 November 1991, units of the former Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), backed by Serb paramilitary formations, entered Vukovar after three months of siege and constant shelling. Immediately upon entering the demolished town, they took from the general hospital's basement, a frequent shelling target, 261 wounded soldiers and civilians, killing 200. According to some sources, about 1,000 Croatian soldiers died while defending Vukovar, and as many were killed in battles around Vinkovci and Osijek, nearby towns which sent assistance when Vukovar was under siege. After breaking Vukovar's poorly armed defence, the captures and mass murders, the JNA and Serb paramilitary units deported the remaining non-Serb population from Vukovar. There are almost no surviving residents whose family members or relatives have not been either killed or gone missing in the Serb aggression. Regardless of the peace-time surrounding in and outside Croatia, Vukovar will remain some kind of dungeon of its own suffering in which peace is not the same as elsewhere. The marking of Vukovar Remembrance Day started by the gathering in Vukovar's general hospital. On this occasion, a part of book "Vukovarski deveti krug", written by Croatian Homeland Defence war soldier Miljenko Miljkovic, was read. The gathered then headed to the cemetery of Croatian Homeland War soldiers where numerous delegations will lay wreaths. (hina) it