Tens of thousands of Croatians marched through the streets of Vukovar on Friday to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Battle of Vukovar and pay their respects to those who died during the city’s siege.
“Today, like tens of thousands of other people, I am here in Vukovar to remember once again what the true horrors of war are and to learn a lesson from this tragedy, so that such things will never happen again, not only in Vukovar, but anywhere in the world,” said Davor Dretar, a citizen participating in march.
The siege which lasted 87 days opposed the Croatian army to various Serbian paramilitary forces. An estimated 20,000 inhabitants were expelled from the area during the battle, which resulted in around 3,000 deaths.
After the end of the Croatian war of independence in 1995, Vukovar was reintegrated into Croatian territory in 1998 as part of the Erdut agreement.
