TWO SERBS KILLED IN DRVAR

( Editorial: --> 7205 ) SARAJEVO, April 16 (Hina) - Two Bosnian Serbs who had recently returned to Drvar were killed on Wednesday night and their house was burnt down. UN Spokesman in Sarajevo, Alexander Ivanko, in a statement on Thursday said that preliminary results of an investigation show that the victims were a married couple, they were shot in the back and signs of physical trauma were found on the man. According to Ivanko, SFOR members discovered the burnt down house soon after 1.00am and in it they found the bodies of two killed persons. Local police commenced investigations this morning under the supervision of the International Police Task Force (IPTF), he said. Ivanko said the killings could have been prevented if there existed a unified, multi-ethnic police force in Drvar that could guarantee returnees security. Ivanko said that head of the UN Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Elizabeth Rehn, immediately seeked that the Bosnian Federal Government suspend the police commander in that town and the Canton Interior Minister. The Federal Government was also ordered to immediately instate a deputy police commander and 15 police officers from the ranks of returnees. In the meantime IPTF command has placed 24 more international police officers in Drvar, who will join the team of 30 already in that area. The UNHCR Spokesperson in Sarajevo, Ariane Quentier, said the UNHCR and the Office of the High Representative harshly condemn this crime in Drvar. The Serb refugees were killed in a house in which they were temporarily accommodated because Croat refugees were in their house, she said. (hina) mrb/as 161650 MET apr 98