Croatian police have arrested six former military policemen suspected of torturing prisoners in the Adriatic city of Split during Croatia's 1991-95 war for independence.
The public prosecutor's office in Split confirmed the six had been arrested yesterday and were being questioned.
The Jutarnji Listnewspaper reported police were hunting down two more suspects in connection with the torture and murder of Serb civilian and military prisoners in the Lora army prison in 1992. Lora was the base of the Croatian military police.
According to the paper, two Serb residents of Split were arrested in 1992 on charges of armed rebellion against the state. They were taken to Lora and beaten so badly they died in hospital.
Two Yugoslav army reservists had also gone missing after being detained in Lora, the paper said. It reported the arrests were the first step of an exhaustive investigation into the events at Lora.
Croatia's reformist authorities have pledged to investigate all crimes committed during the war, including those of its own troops, that were largely condoned or ignored by the previous nationalist regime.