SFOR SOLDIERS WOUND TIPSY RUNAWAY DRIVER

( Editorial: --> 9070 ) SARAJEVO, March 12 (Hina) - SFOR troops on Thursday morning opened fire at a vehicle which had refused to stop at a checkpoint near Sarajevo. The driver of the car was wounded as a result. SFOR spokesman in Sarajevo, Peter Clarke, said that a man of Serb nationality driving a "Golf" with Sarajevo registration plates had been wounded in the incident. According to Clarke, NATO-led SFOR troops had heard shots fired around midnight Wednesday near the Pale-Jahorina road, and had set up checkpoints on the road. Three hours later, the white Golf drove past a checkpoint, refusing to even pay attention to the 'stop' sign. The SFOR soldiers shot eight times at the car, wounding the driver in the shoulder. He was later taken to a SFOR hospital in Rajlovci. Clarke said no weapons had been found in the vehicle, but the driver had obviously been inebriated. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, and it is not known if the shots heard Wednesday night had been meant for SFOR soldiers. (hina) lm jn 121436 MET mar 98