NATO braces for refugee clashes in N. Bosnia<\/p>\n
SARAJEVO (AFP): Bosnian Serb and Moslem leaders told the NATO-
\nled peacekeeping force (IFOR) yesterday they would act to prevent
\nviolent clashes as groups of Bosnian refugees try to return to
\ntheir former homes in Serb-held territory.<\/p>\n
NATO troops are braced for further violence in northern Bosnia
\nfollowing recent clashes between groups of largely Bosnian
\nrefugees and mainly Serb civilians.<\/p>\n
IFOR spokesman, Lt. Col. Max Marinner, said: \"The interior
\nministries of the parties have formally accepted their
\nresponsibilities and have said they will prevent civil disorder
\nand maintain law and order.\"<\/p>\n
He did not say what measures the parties had proposed.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, IFOR, deployed in Bosnia to separate the former
\nwarring forces and guarantee freedom of movement, said that if
\nasked by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) it would
\n\"take appropriate measures to restrict or prevent large-scale
\nmovements of vehicles in order to assist in controlling the
\nsituation.\"<\/p>\n
It denied the move was a restriction of freedom of movement or
\nwas tantamount to giving in to threats of Serb violence.<\/p>\n
IFOR said it condemned political authorities of both sides in
\nthe dispute for \"orchestrating the violence.\"<\/p>\n
And Marriner warned yesterday: \"Soldiers are the wrong people
\nto control crowds. It is a recipe for disaster.\"<\/p>\n
Several marches are planned for yesterday by Bosnian refugees
\ntrying to visit homes in the flashpoint towns of Doboj and Brcko
\nand the village of Mahala, near the Moslem-held town of Kalesija.<\/p>\n
Yesterday is the first day of Kordan Bayram, an important
\nMoslem festival, and many Bosnians are keen to return to their
\nhome towns for a first post-war visit to family graves.<\/p>\n
\"Things go wrong when they want to make a political statement
\nwith those visits. We do not want a religious festival to turn
\ninto a political hijacking exercise,\" Marinner said.<\/p>\n
NATO troops deployed forces around the towns early yesterday
\nbut there was as yet no sign of a mass movement of Bosnians, an
\nIFOR officer said.<\/p>\n
\"We will be ready for trouble if it comes, but of course we
\nhope there won't be any,\" said the officer, who asked not to be
\nnamed.<\/p>\n
IFOR has accused the authorities on all sides of attempting to
\nprovoke and organize confrontations after a series of violent
\nclashes in the past week.<\/p>\n
In the latest incident, two hand grenades and stones were
\nthrown as a 250-strong crowd of Bosnian refugees clashed with
\nSerb civilians near Tuzla on Thursday, injuring one Bosnian.<\/p>\n
An IFOR officer, who asked not to be named, told AFP Saturday
\nthat Bosnian Serb military chief Gen. Ratko Mladic had warned
\nIFOR not to allow Bosnian refugees into the Republika Srpska, the
\nSerb-administered entity created under the Dayton peace accords
\nfor Bosnia.<\/p>\n
Mladic said he could not guarantee the safety of IFOR troops
\nin the event of protests to block the Moslem refugees.<\/p>\n
Marinner confirmed yesterday that a letter had been received
\nfrom Mladic but said he was not aware of the contents. IFOR does
\nnot acknowledge Mladic, an indicted war criminal.<\/p>\n
Some 2.4 million people were forced to abandon their homes
\nduring the war in Bosnia which began in 1992. The Dayton peace
\naccords for Bosnia, signed in December, provide for their return.
\nBosnia is divided between two entities -- the Republika Sprska
\nand a Bosnian-Croat federation.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nato-braces-for-refugee-clashes-in-n-bosnia-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}