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AFP
Knin, Croatia
Croatia’s top ethnic Serb official joined a ceremony on Wednesday marking the 25th anniversary of a military victory that ended the country’s independence war, setting a rare tone of reconciliation on a day normally charged with tension.
Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic is the first ethnic Serb political representative to attend the annual memorial for “Operation Storm” offensive, in which Croatian troops recaptured territory held by rebel Serbs during the 1991-95 independence war.
While Zagreb celebrates the day as a victorious moment of liberation, Belgrade mourns the hundreds of ethnic Serbs who were killed and the more than 200,000 who fled Croatia in the aftermath.
In Croatia this year, an olive branch was extended as the Serb minister joined other top officials during a wreath-laying ceremony in Knin.
“We mourn all the victims, especially civilians, and not only Croatians, but also Serbs and all the others,” Croatia’s conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in an address.
Knin, Croatia
Croatia’s top ethnic Serb official joined a ceremony on Wednesday marking the 25th anniversary of a military victory that ended the country’s independence war, setting a rare tone of reconciliation on a day normally charged with tension.
Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic is the first ethnic Serb political representative to attend the annual memorial for “Operation Storm” offensive, in which Croatian troops recaptured territory held by rebel Serbs during the 1991-95 independence war.
While Zagreb celebrates the day as a victorious moment of liberation, Belgrade mourns the hundreds of ethnic Serbs who were killed and the more than 200,000 who fled Croatia in the aftermath.
In Croatia this year, an olive branch was extended as the Serb minister joined other top officials during a wreath-laying ceremony in Knin.
“We mourn all the victims, especially civilians, and not only Croatians, but also Serbs and all the others,” Croatia’s conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in an address.
