VARIVODE (Croatia), Sept 28 — Croatia’s prime minister today commemorated ethnic Serb civilians killed in the aftermath of the 1990s independence war, the latest in a series of reconciliation gestures.

Andrej Plenkovic attended a ceremony in memory of nine Serb civilians killed in the southern village of Varivode following "Operation Storm”, a 1995 military campaign that retook Croatian territory from Serb rebels and in effect ended the war.

The victims were shot dead at close range in front of their homes nearly two months after the "Operation Storm”, and no-one has been held accountable for the crime.

The Croatian government has promised to improve fragile relations with ethnic Serbs, and during the ceremony Plenkovic voiced his deep regret over a "serious crime against innocent and helpless people”.

"This crime is an insult for modern Croatia and the violation of ideals for which a large majority of Croatian veterans, among whom there were also Serbs, were fighting,” he said.

Wartime crimes against ethnic Serbs "cannot be justified in any way”, he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic, an ethnic Serb, labelled the commemoration a "major thing”.

"It is a very strong, symbolic gesture that these victims here also deserve empathy and respect,” he told reporters.

Milosevic became the first Serb to join Croatia’s annual commemoration of the "Operation Storm” in August.

A few weeks, later President Zoran Milanovic and top ministers attended a commemoration for six Serb civilians murdered in the village of Grubori after the offensive.

The 1991-1995 war in Croatia claimed more than 20,000 lives and roughly 200,000 ethnic Serbs fled during and after the conflict.

Around half have since returned and now make up some 4.5 per cent of the 4.2 million population. — AFP