U.N. Hands Over Suspected War Criminals to Croatia

U.N. officials who had been sheltering hundreds of Serbs handed over 38 of them Saturday to Croatian authorities who suspect them of war crimes. In exchange, Croatia let the 700 others leave for Serbia.

The Serbs took refuge at the U.N. compound in their former stronghold of Knin when the town fell to the Croatian army last month.

The United Nations, which has accused the Croats of atrocities against the defeated Serbs, had feared that the people at the compound might be mistreated if they were turned over. Croatia assured them that would not happen.

The 38 are suspected of committing crimes against Croats during and after the 1991 war in which Serbs took nearly a third of Croatia. Last month’s Croatian offensive took most of that back.

Croatia had refused to let the other Serbs at the compound leave until the United Nations turned over the suspects.