MORE THAN 10,000 PEOPLE RETURN TO THE VUKOVAR REGION

( Editorial: --> 9570 ) VINKOVCI, September 9 (Hina)- Until now more than 10,000 persons have returned to the Danube part of the Vukovar-Srijem county, including 8,500 who have been registered as returnees, head of the Vinkovci branch of the Government office for DPs and Refugees, Ante Drmic, said. He added that the number of returnees to Vukovar had broken the "psychological barrier" of 1,000 and that the return had been most intensive to the municipalities of Nijemci, Lovas, Tovarnik and the town of Ilok. So far more than 20,000 persons have returned to the Croatian Danube region. The Vukovar-Srijem county is still accommodating 12,600 refugees who are waiting to return to their homes. Another 5,560 refugees, who are accommodated in other people's houses, are waiting to be able to return to their homes, mostly in Republika srpska. According to the data collected by the Office for DPs and Refugees, the Croatian Danube region is still home to 5,700 Serb DPs, including 766 families from the Vukovar-Srijem county who have illegaly moved to other people's houses. According to Drmic, 64 DP families have refused to register. Since the launching of the Government's return programme on 26 June, 573 ethnic Serbs have moved back to Croatia from the FRY via the Bajakovo border crossing. According to UNHCR's data quoted by Drnic, another 9,000 persons are waiting to return from the FRY. The Office has authorised the return of 3,838 Serbs, 1,222 of whom have already returned. Since 1995 Croatia 23,433 Serbs have returned to Croatia from the FRY and BH. The Office has registered another 22,300 Serb returns to other Croatian areas from the Danube region or through it, which brings the total number of Serb returnees to 45,643, Drmic said. (Hina)mr 101948 MET sep 98