POLICE SATISFIED WITH HIGH-SECURITY NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

ZAGREB, Jan 2 (Hina) - All 118 New Year celebrations, which were organised throughout Croatia in the open and were attended by some 350,000 citizens, took place in an atmosphere of high security, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday. Members of the Ministry and authorised police departments had carried out anti-explosive check-ups on all locations where celebrations were expected to take place. All New Year celebrations organised in the open were secured by a sufficient number of police officers in a discreet manner, the statement read. The police registered ten minor incidents, a false anonymous report on an explosive device, a minor wound, five cases of disturbance of public order and peace, one case of self-wounding, and a smashed shop-window. Between December 31, 1999 and January 2, 2000, in an operation called 'Peace and Good', the police registered 21 cases of vehicles being shot through. Two persons were wounded by fire-arms and another five were wounded while throwing firecrackers. One person was killed in a hand-grenade explosion and another two were wounded in other explosions, whereas material damage was reported in three cases. (hina) rml