More than 30,000 people are expected to take part in a memorial march in Vukovar on 18 November, the authorities of the eastern Croatian town said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The march in tribute to victims of the siege of Vukovar and its fall into the hands of Serb rebels, supported by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in mid-November 1991, will be led by veterans of the 204th Vukovar Brigade that defended the town. Flags of all wartime units of the Croatian forces will be displayed during the event.

The 5.5 kilometre memorial walk will start outside the town's general hospital and proceed towards the Memorial Cemetery.

This year, commemorations of the suffering of Vukovar residents are being held under the slogan "Brave People".

In 1999, the Croatian parliament adopted a decision proclaiming November 18 Vukovar Remembrance Day.