SFOR CLOSES BOSNIAN SECTION OF BELGRADE-BAR RAILWAY

SARAJEVO, April 3 (Hina) - The Yugoslav Belgrade-Bar railway, a small part of which passes through the territory of Bosnia- Herzegovina, has been shut down for rail traffic since Saturday morning, the NATO-led Stabilisation Force in Bosnia (SFOR) command reported today. According to a statement forwarded to Hina, the SFOR discontinued traffic along this strategically important railway line at the village of Rijeka near the Serbian town of Priboj (about 80 kilometres east of the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo) "The action was taken as a prudent and precautionary measure to deny military forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia entry into and transit through Bosnia-Herzegovina," read the statement. The SFOR command confirmed that, according to its mandate, it was continuing to closely oversee all military activities which might threaten peace in Bosnia. In this context, the SFOR warns, any attempt of the raid into the Bosnian territory would be regarded as a direct threat to the Dayton peace accords and that's why the NATO-led peacekeeping forces would not allow the exploitation of the railway which runs from Serbia through Bosnia to Montenegro for military purposes. The SFOR command announced that the railway would be open only after the end of the current hostilities. A warning that peacekeeping troops in Bosnia will respond to any internal and foreign threat posed to the country has been forwarded to Yugoslav authorities. (hina) ms