BBC: Croatians convicted of war crimes

Two Croatian military leaders have been convicted of atrocities against Serbs during the break up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, after a trial at The Hague.

Judges sentenced Ante Gotovina to 24 years and Mladen Markac to 18 years in jail for crimes including murder, persecution and plunder.

Gotovina and Markac were convicted of a range of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed as their forces retook the Krajina region, which had been under Serbian control since the start of the war in 1991

About 200,000 ethnic Serbs were driven from Croatia in 1995 and at least 150 were killed in a military offensive known as Operation Storm.

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Croatia's Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said implicating the government in a criminal enterprise was unacceptable.

She said the operation was legitimate and aimed at liberating Croatian territory from occupation.

"My government will do everything possible within the legal framework to get these qualifications withdrawn," she said.

The aftermath of the war is a key issue both in Croatia's domestic politics and its external relations.

Ceo tekst: BBC