ZAGREB, 18 Nov (Hina) – Tens of thousands people from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and from expat Croat communities abroad arrived in Vukovar on Monday to attend commemorative events marking the 33rd anniversary of the fall of this eastern Croatian city into the hands of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) and Serb rebels.
Croatia observes Homeland War Victims Remembrance Day and Vukovar and Škabrnja Remembrance Day on 18 November in memory of the occupation of those two areas in mid-November 1991 at the start of the Homeland War.
During this year’s commemorative march in Vukovar, over 2,600 young people wore white T-shirts with the names of victims killed by the occupying forces in Vukovar.
The local Franciscan monastery collected data on the victims which show that during the 87-day siege and in the first days of the occupation of Vukovar, at least 2,717 defenders and civilians lost their lives.
Some other participants in today’s march carried banners with patriotic messages.
The occupation of Vukovar lasted until 15 January 1998 when he peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region was completed, after which the people of Vukovar finally returned to their homes.
According to available data, 5,400 family houses and 282 block of flats have been rebuilt in the post-war reconstruction in the area of Vukovar, and €245 million was spent on that segment of the post-war renovation.
