On the 32nd anniversary of the 1991 Vukovar massacre, thousands of Croatian citizens and state officials attended a memorial service in the city. The city was under siege for 87 days by Yugoslav soldiers and Serb paramilitary troops until it was captured by Serbian forces on November 18, 1991.
The event was attended by Croatian President Zoran Milanovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who praised Vukovar as a symbol of unity and solidarity. The massacre resulted in the deaths of over 3,000 people, mostly Croats, and thousands more held in camps. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced former Yugoslav army officials Mile Mrksic and Veselin Sljivancanin to 10 and 20 years in prison, respectively, for the massacre of civilians. Vukovar was placed under UN administration and reintegrated into Croatia in 1998. The Serb forces’ invasion lasted until January 15, 1998, and at least 1,624 people were killed, 7,000 were taken to concentration camps, and around 22,000 non-Serbs, mostly Croats, were deported from the city. The bodies of around 500 people killed in Vukovar have yet to be found.
CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE NEWS
Commemorations For Vukovar Massacre
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