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Croatia remembered the Vukovar massacre 31 years ago

The city that was destroyed by the Serbs.Thousands in procession

18 November, 19:06
(ANSA) - ZAGREB, 18 NOV - Croatia today commemorates the 31st anniversary of the massacre of Vukovar, a town on the Danube on the border with Serbia and a symbol of the struggle for national independence.

Vukovar was razed to the ground by Serb militias after a two-month siege on November 18, 1991.

The commemoration took place in Vukovar with the traditional "Procession of Remembrance" attended by some 30,000 people from all over the country, with veterans present. Among the institutional and political representatives were Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, almost all his government ministers, and the Speaker of the Parliament, Gordan Jandroković. In addition, the President of the Republic, Zoran Milanović, visited Vukovar yesterday. Representatives of the Serbian minority also laid two wreaths in the Danube River yesterday, one in memory of Croatian victims and the other of Serbian victims. This gesture was harshly criticized by right-wing parties, according to which November 18 commemorations should be dedicated only to Croatian victims and suffering.

"The policy of reconciliation and peaceful coexistence between Serbs and Croats has no alternative," Prime Minister Plenković said, recalling that Croatia is still searching for 1,800 missing in the war for independence fought from 1991 to 1995.

"We will never stop searching for the disappeared, but we are also aware that for this, we also need the cooperation of those who have more information than we do and now live in Serbia," he added. The most tragic incident was the massacre at the hospital in Vukovar, where 264 Croatian civilians, who had taken refuge there, were killed by Serb forces after being tortured. A total of 2,717 people, military and civilian, lost their lives on the Croatian side in the battle for Vukovar, which lasted from August to November 18, 1991. (ANSA).

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