6 MILLION GERMAN MARKS NEEDED TO RETURN REFUGEES

SARAJEVO, Sept 4 (Hina) - UNHCR regional coordinator for South- Eastern Europe, Werner Blatter, asked the international community Tuesday for additional financial aid to help facilitate the return of refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Blatter told the press in Sarajevo that over the past seven months large numbers of refugees had been returned to those parts of the country where their ethnic group is a minority, adding that more than 150,000 people had been returned to their homes since 1999. "Those are indicators of a significant improvement in security, which resulted in full freedom of movement," Blatter said, pointing out this was a way of fulfilling one of the most important provisions of the Dayton Peace Accord. The biggest problem for returnees is the fact that most of their homes had been destroyed during the war, and the approaching winter threatens to stop their efforts of rebuilding. Blatter suggested temporary quarters should be built, for which, UNHCR estimates, six million German marks are needed. Another problem that requires an immediate solution are the refugee collection centres, where 7,500 Bosniaks still live, often without basic living requirements. (hina) js