17 000 REFUGEES RETURN TO WESTERN BOSNIA

( Editorial: --> 3031 ) SARAJEVO, Jan 8 (Hina) - Spokesman for the UN Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Sarajevo, Kris Janowski, said on Thursday that the supporters of Fikret Abdic, who found refuge in Croatia during the war, were returning to Bosnia-Herzegovina undisturbed and with the full cooperation of the cantonal authorities in Bihac. According to Janowski, a group of 189 refugees who had found temporary shelter in Gasinci in eastern Croatia, had returned to the Velika Kladusa area on Wednesday. A total of 235 refugees returned to the area on the last day of last year, and another 250 to 270 refugees are expected to return. Both times the return had been accomplished without hindrance and with the full cooperation of the Una-Sana Canton authorities. The returnees had been provided with escort so they would not be intimidated or attacked, Janowski said. According to UNHCR data, 16,000 to 17,000 of Abdic's supporters who had fled western Bosnia during the war returned to their homes. About 11,000 returned in an organised manner, while others returned by their own arrangements. Fikret Abdic founded an autonomy in west Bosnia-Herzegovina during the war, and his supporters entered armed conflicts with the Bosnian Army Fifth Corps in Bihac. (hina) lm mm 081420 MET jan 98