2 Killed as Serbs Shell Croatia Town

Two mortar shells slammed into the eastern Croatian town of Osijek late Sunday, killing at least two people and wounding a dozen others, local journalists and hospital officials said.

Osijek is at the edge of a swath of land along Croatia’s eastern border that has been held by rebel Serbs since a 1991 war.

The state-run HINA news agency said that Croatian army units east of the town had repelled a Serb infantry attack. It gave no further details.

Officials at the Osijek hospital said two civilians were dead upon arrival. At least a dozen more were being treated for wounds from shrapnel and flying glass.

The attack followed 15 blasts that shook Osijek Saturday, prompting authorities to put the city on alert.

Gen. Djuro Decak, commander of the Osijek sector, said the U.N. commander in the area, Gen. Freddy van de Weghe, had invited him and rebel Serb commanders for talks Monday. He said he would attend.

Tensions in Croatia have been high since the army launched an offensive in early May to retake part of the one-third of the country held by rebel Serbs.