BOSNIAN SERB POLICE WITHDRAW FROM SARAJEVO NEIGHBOURHOOD OF DOBRINJA

SARAJEVO, April 25 (Hina) - The Bosnian Serb police have withdrawn from those parts of the Sarajevo neighbourhood of Dobrinja which have been returned to the Croat-Muslim entity (Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina) in line with an arbitration ruling. Police officers from the Sarajevo Canton Interior Ministry have started occasional patrols in the area, UN Mission spokesman Douglas Coffman said in Sarajevo on Wednesday. Commenting for Hina claims on the situation in Dobrinja, Coffman said the binding decision on the new inter-entity line, adopted by Irish judge Diarmud Sheridan, had gone into force on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. The implementation of the decision has started at midnight and Republika Srpska police officers have withdrawn from Dobrinja accordingly, he said. International police forces (IPTF) in the country are monitoring the situation in the area but responsibility for local security rests primarily with the local authorities, Coffman said. The Sarajevo media have reported that groups of no more than 500 Serb protesters last night prevented police officers wearing federal insignia from entering Dobrinja. The protesters reportedly shouted insults and threats at the federal policemen and attacked an IPTF vehicle bearing UN insignia. These protests were expected but their scope was much smaller than expected, Coffman said. The Stabilisation Force (SFOR) command in Sarajevo confirmed that the presence of NATO-led troops in Dobrinja had been increased but that the overall situation was peaceful. (hina) sb rml