BOSNIAN SERBS THREATEN CROAT REFUGEES AND SARAJEVO ARCHBISHOP

( Editorial: --> 9024 ) SARAJEVO/DERVENTA, April 23 (Hina) - Serbs in the northern Bosnian town of Derventa provoked an incident on Thursday, after the arrival of a group of Croat refugees. About a thousand Serbs surrounded several hundred Croats, who were lead by Bosnia-Herzegovina's Catholic primate Cardinal Puljic. The group came to town to attend a mass at the ruins of the Catholic church, that should have been served by the Sarajevo Archbishop. International Police Task Force (IPTF) spokesman Liam McDowall confirmed on Thursday that shortly after the arrival of Cardinal Puljic and the Croat refugees, about 60 Serbs blocked the road to Slavonski Brod (Croatia) with logs. Thus they prevented the arrival of another 200 refugees who had set out from Croatia for Derventa. After that local Serbs surrounded the crypt that was girded by Cardinal Puljic and the refugees, and started threatening and insulting them. According to McDowall, the Serbs also threatened members of the IPTF and pelted their vehicles with stones and eggs. Due to a very tense situation unarmed IPTF policemen had to withdraw to their station in Derventa. After that the Serbs even tried to set fire to the remnants of the crypt and the Catholic church, which was thwarted by the local police. SFOR's Sarajevo spokesman Louis Garneau said that SFOR dispatched Finish troops, from its Nordic-Polish brigade, to closely monitor the developments around the scene of the incident and in the surrounding area. According to Garneau, by afternoon there had been no need for direct intervention by SFOR because the local police were apparently determined to keep the situation under control. (Hina) jn mr /mb 231935 MET apr 98