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Internally Displaced Persons – 2003

The Croatian government pledged to rebuild 8,000 homes in order to facilitate the return of refugees.¹ President Mesic and Prime Minister Racan issue a call in 2003 for all refugees to return: “I call on all the refugees, citizens of Croatia, to return to their homeland and use the opportunity that is being given.”² UNHCR begins to close their offices in Croatia. Their final estimate was that “by the end of 2003, over 100,000 Croatian Serbs had returned to their homes, while an estimated 230,00 internally displaced persons had also gone back.”³

1. “Croatia to rebuild 8,000 homes in war-hit areas this year,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, February 21, 2003.
2. “Croatia renews calls for Serb refugees to return,” Agence France Presse, June 16, 2003.
3. “UNHCR closes last three field offices in Croatia,” BBC Sumary of World Broadcasts, January 3, 2004.