BOSNIAN HERZEGOVINA: MOSLEM REFUGEES ARRIVE IN ZENICA FOLLOWING EXPULSION FROM NORTHERN BOSNIA BY BOSNIAN SERB MILITARY.

Record ID: 275034

  • Title: BOSNIAN HERZEGOVINA: MOSLEM REFUGEES ARRIVE IN ZENICA FOLLOWING EXPULSION FROM NORTHERN BOSNIA BY BOSNIAN SERB MILITARY.
  • Date: 11th October 1995
  • Summary: ZENICA, SARAJEVO AND TUZLA, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA (OCTOBER 11 1995) ACCESS ALL ZENICA, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA (OCTOBER 11, 1995) (RTV - AVAILABLE ALL) 1. GV INT. REFUGEES CROWDED INTO SPORTS HALL 0.04 2. MCU OLD LADY LYING ON FLOOR/ZOOM (2 SHOTS) 0.11 3. SV/ZOOM WOMAN WITH BRUISED LEG IN LINE WITH OTHER WOMEN (2 SHOTS) 0.19
  • Embargoed: 26th October 1995 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SARAJEVO/ZENICA/TUZLA, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
  • Reuters ID: LVA14V3LYMK6GPSK6T20COTB9F6
  • Story Text: Moslem refugees poured into the Bosnian government-held town of Zenica on Wednesday (October 11), allegedly expelled from northern Bosnia by paramilitary Serb units known for ethnic cleansing.

    The refugees comprised mainly children and the elderly from the Banja Luka region. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Kris Janowski said he expected thousands more to flood into Zenica over the next few days and the commission was very concerned about the fate of men of fighting age.

    One disabled man said he had been allowed to leave with just his wheelchair, althought other refugees on the bus had theirs taken by soldiers.

    Bosnian Minister Hasan Muratovic said rebel Bosnian Serbs must agree to a ceasefire offer by four pm local time (1500 gmt) on Wednesday or a truce in the Bosnian war would be delayed again.

    Serb officials said on Tuesday they would give an answer to the government by seven pm local time (1800 gmt).

    "If they say it (yes) before four o'clock then it is automatic, if they don't say it by four o'clock then it is again delayed for 24 hours," Muratovic, Minister for Relations with the United Nations, said.

    "But I am sure they will comply with the request and there will be a ceasefire from midnight and I hope it will be the last day of the war," he said.

    He said the deadline was imposed because the government needed time to inform its troops in the field.

    Muratovic, who was due to leave for Brussels later on Wednesday, said the government had already signed the ceasefire document and given it to the United Nations.

    French UN soldiers on Wednesday worked on a crucial checkpoint in the no-mans' land around Sarajevo, building what will be the city's biggest fortified combat post.

    The facility will straddle the road through Sup, scene of the heaviest fighting in the bloody 42-month war around the besieged Bosnian capital, said General Jean-Rene Bachelet, and defending access is necessary to avoid any offensive action from either side.

    The road was cleared of mines and unexploded ordinance last week after being inaccessible for three years. The post will comprise a chicane and fortified observation post, manned by 30 French infantry with light armoured cars.

    The road forms part of the route to Mostar. Before the war it was a major arterial route carrying traffic from Dubrovnik, Belgrade and Tuzla.

    The body of a Norwegian UN peacekeeper killed during a Serb artillery attack was flown out of Tuzla on Wednesday.

    The soldier was killed during an attack on an air base close to Tuzla in north Bosnia on Monday. The UN later called for air strikes from NATO warplanes.


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