EXHUMATION OF MASSACRE VICTIMS IN SKABRNJA BEGINS

ZADAR, June 5 (Hina) - The exhumation of 27 bodies from a mass grave in the village of Skabrnja near the central Adriatic port of Zadar started on Wednesday. The mass grave holds the bodies of civilians killed by rebel Serb forces and the Yugoslav army after they had occupied the village in November 1991. According to the survived villagers, they had mostly been older people who had not wanted to leave the village. After the Serb paramilitary forces killed them, they buried them in a trench near the local school. The exhumation in Skabrnja is coordinated by the Croatian government Commission for Missing and Detained Persons. The president of the Commission, Major Ivan Grujic, on Wednesday informed reporters that the exhumation of Skabrnja victims would last until Thursday. Present at the site are also families of the killed persons to facilitate the identification of the bodies. Victims of the massacre in Skabrnja will be buried in the local cemetery on Saturday. (hina) lm jn 051557 MET jun 96