U.S. SOLDIER'S NOSE BROKEN IN BRCKO DEMONSTRATIONS

TUZLA, Aug 28 (Hina) - SFOR is authorised to answer a threat or announcement of one and is fully prepared to do so of the situation in Brcko goes the wrong way, spokesman for SFOR Sector North, Jim Cronin said Thursday. SFOR troops have been deployed to patrol around the northern Bosnian town of Brcko throughout the day and have set up several check points on roads towards the town to keep the number of demonstrators from growing. Cronin told reporters that in the protests in Brcko so far, an US SFOR soldier had had hi nose broken and eyes injured as a result of having a demonstrator hit him with a wooden bat. He added that 15 international institutions' vehicles had been damaged in the riots. Several police stations have been under control of SFOR and the International Police , while the local Serb radio continues to call on the residents to violence towards representatives of international organisations and the non-Serb population. SFOR would continue to observe the situation in Brcko and to insist on an unbiased and peaceful solution to the conflicts between the two factions in Republika Srpska, in line with the Dayton accords, Cronin said. (hina) lm 281726 MET aug 97