SFOR OPERATION IS OF LIMITED CHARACTER

SARAJEVO, 10 July (Hina) - According to available information, a NATO operation which was carried out Thursday morning in Prijedor, western Bosnia-Herzegovina, with the aim of arresting war crime suspects in the country, is of limited character and was carried out only in the area of Prijedor. However, unconfirmed reports say that a similar action was carried out in the area of Sokolac, Mt Romanija. #L# According to the Stabilisation Force (SFOR) sources in Sarajevo, NATO soldiers who are part of a multinational division in charge of controlling the south-eastern part of the country, are not in the state of heightened alert. The Bosnian Serb media, controlled by the Serb authorities in Pale, accused the international community of 'acting in a fascistic manner', confirming that a former Prijedor police superintendent Simo Drljaca was killed during this morning's action by British NATO soldiers. Drljaca was reportedly killed in the village of Gradina near Prijedor. According to the information released by the Pale radio, Drljaca's body was evacuated by a helicopter, which flew off in an unknown direction. The whereabouts of a former Prijedor municipal head, Milan Kovacevic, who was arrested this morning as well, is also unknown. The same source reported that the president of the Bosnian Serb entity, Biljana Plavsic, sent a protest letter to the SFOR chief commander William Crouch. The letter reportedly said that 'such an act will have serious consequences for the relations between the Republika Srpska authorities and SFOR'. Plavsic demanded that the arrested be immediately released, or 'the reaction of the people will be horrible'. (hina) mm rm 101627 MET jul 97