Serbs shell Gorazde ahead of Bosnia truce talks
SARAJEVO (Reuter): Warring Serbs and Bosnians prepared to open UN-mediated talks on a Bosnia truce yesterday just hours after the Security Council demanded an immediate halt to Serb attacks against the enclave of Gorazde.
Ignoring the Security Council demand and their promise to the UN commander in Bosnia to stop bombarding the town, Serb forces continued shelling Gorazde yesterday.
"Some shells impacted on the town of Gorazde, not far away from the UNHCR office," Kris Janowski, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Sarajevo, said yesterday.
He said the latest casualty toll in the 10-day Serb assault on the town was 67 killed and 325 wounded, up by more than 20 from the day before.
The UNHCR's Peter Kessler said in Zagreb four shells struck the town early yesterday, landing one kilometer from the organization's Gorazde office. He said the situation in the town calmed down after the strike.
The talks between Serb commander Gen. Ratko Mladic and Bosnian Gen. Rasim Delic were due to start at Sarajevo airport at 0800 GMT under the watchful eye of UN commander Lt. Gen. Sir Michael Rose.
UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi called both sides "to seize the opportunity to the end the bloodshed which people of Bosnia- Herzegovina have been forced to endure for two years."
But 20 minutes after the time scheduled, only UN civil affairs chief Viktor Andreyev had arrived. UN officers said Rose was still meeting Mladic and Delic separately before meeting them together at the airport.
The Security Council on Wednesday demanded an immediate halt to attacks against Gorazde and called for unimpeded access for UN troops.
"The council strongly condemns the shelling and infantry and artillery attacks by the besieging Serb forces against the 'safe area' of Gorazde in which many civilians have lost their lives and several hundreds have been wounded," the statement said.
Tacitly acknowledging that Bosnian-led forces sometimes used "safe areas" to regroup and launch attacks of their own, the council called for "an end to any provocative actions by whomsoever committed in and around the 'safe areas'."
Annink said the three UN monitors and eight liaison officers sent to Gorazde on Wednesday to join four military observers already there entered the enclave yesterday after being stalled for the night by the Serbs at Rogatica. He gave no reason why the team was delayed.
Janowski said up to 2,000 refugees from outlying villages in the pocket have sought shelter in the town, already crammed with refugees from earlier fighting in eastern Bosnia.
Serbs prevented Rose from visiting Gorazde on Wednesday, citing security reasons, but he planned to try again tomorrow.
Rose said it was now more important to arrange the meeting between Gen. Delic and Gen. Mladic on a total cease-fire along the whole line of conflict.