Yugoslav Ex-General Freed Early By Hague Court

A former Yugoslav general was released on Friday from the detention centre of a Hague-based war crimes court, after serving more than two-thirds of a 7-1/2 year prison sentence for crimes committed in 1991.

Pavle Strugar, 75, was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 2005 over attacks on civilians during the 1991 shelling of the historic Croatian city of Dubrovnik and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment.

An appeals court reduced the sentence in July 2008, citing Strugar's deteriorating health.

His release from detention follows a Jan. 16 decision in favour of his early release.

Two civilians were killed and three were wounded when forces under Strugar's command shelled Dubrovnik from land and sea on Dec. 6, 1991, after Croatia declared independence from Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia.

The medieval and Renaissance old town -- a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site -- suffered heavy damage.