General Ante Gotovina is to go on trial before the UN war crimes court in The Hague for pushing 200,000 Serbs out of Croatia in 1995.

Gotovina and two other Croatian generals in the same case face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including persecution, murder and plunder. They have all pleaded not guilty.

The charges against Gotovina, one of the tribunal's most high profile prisoners, stem from a lightning military operation which led to the recapture of the Serb-held Krajina region of Croatia in 1995, crushing one of the last pockets of Serb resistance.

Between 150,000 and 200,000 Serbs fled or were forced to flee to Bosnia and Serbia during the operation, codenamed Storm. More than 150 Serb civilians died during the offensive, according to the indictment.

The trial is expected to take over a year to complete. Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) the prosecution will deliver its opening statement.

AP/RA