22,406 PERSONS RETURN TO PRE-WAR HOMES IN VUKOVAR-SRIJEM COUNTY

VUKOVAR, Nov 15 (Hina) - A total of 22,406 persons to date have returned to their pre-war homes in Vukovar-Srijem County in eastern Croatia, the Regional Office for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Vinkovci reported on Monday, pointing out this was 44 percent of the number of persons exiled from the area in 1991. The highest number of returnees have been registered in the so called Srijem Triangle. Almost all who have wanted to return to the villages of Apsevci, Donje Novo Selo, and Podgradje have done so. The situation is similar in the Municipality of Nustar. Sixty-two percent of returnees have returned to the Ilok area, 67 percent to the Municipality of Tordinci, and more than 50 percent to the municipalities of Bogdanovci, Lovas, Tompojevci, and Tovarnik. These are municipalities which prior to the war had a majority Croat population. Returns have been considerably slower to municipalities with a majority Serb population. Only 18 percent of Croats exiled in 1991 have returned to the Municipality of Borovo, while of nine families exiled from the Municipality of Negoslavci, not one has come back. About 30 percent of displaced persons have returned to the Municipality of Trpinja. To the Vukovar area, which prior to the Serb aggression had a population of 46,543, 4,960 have returned out of 21,703 exiled, which is about 23 percent of the entire figure. (hina) ha