THE United Nations Security Council condemned Croatia yesterday for human rights violations and set a deadline for Zagreb to make amends.
The council's statement charged Croatia with killing "several hundreds of civilians, systematic and widespread looting and arson and other forms of destruction of property".
The explicit condemnation of Zagreb follows the presentation of a report by the UN Secretary General, Dr Boutros Boutros Ghali, which concentrated largely on human rights abuses carried out when the Croatian army retook the Krajina region from rebel Serbs in August.
The statement said that many of the victims were elderly Serbs who had stayed put rather than flee the region, which is located along the border with Bosnia.
The statement asks the Secretary General to report on Zagreb's progress on February 15th. If Croatia does not co operate, the council says it will act "as appropriate".
The council expressed strong concern over what it said were a considerable disproportion between the number of crimes reported and the number of people brought to justice and urged Zagreb to arrest "all perpetrators and bring them promptly to trial".
It also called on the Croatian government "to provide urgently needed food, medical assistance and proper shelter to the Serb population".