20 years for Vukovar massacre

The UN war crimes tribunal yesterday sentenced former Yugoslav army officer Mile Mrksic to 20 years in prison for war crimes over the massacre of 194 people in the Croatian town of Vukovar in 1991.

A second ex-officer, Veselin Sljivancanin, was sentenced to five years for torture but cleared of the most serious charges against him, while a third ex-officer, Miroslav Radic, was cleared of all charges.

The court's rulings were expected to cause shock and anger in Croatia.

Prosecutors had tried to prove the three men were responsible for the killing of at least 264 people who had sought shelter in Vukovar's hospital early in the 1991-95 war, and had sought life sentences for all three.

The killings became notorious as one of the most brutal episodes of the Balkan wars.

The court ruled that the three were not criminally responsible, although Mr Mrksic, 60, had in effect allowed the killings to happen because he knew the detainees were at high risk if he left them in the hands of Serb paramilitaries.

When Vukovar fell to Yugoslav forces after a siege, many people fled to the hospital expecting to be evacuated in the presence of international observers.