SARAJEVO, Jan 3 (Hina) - British General Michael Walker, commander of the IFOR ground force in Bosnia-Herzegovina, met with Bosnian Serb representatives in the Sarajevo suburb of Ilidza on Wednesday, but the talks yielded no results
regarding the liberation of the Bosniacs who had been detained in the last ten days.
SARAJEVO, Jan 3 (Hina) - British General Michael Walker, commander
of the IFOR ground force in Bosnia-Herzegovina, met with Bosnian
Serb representatives in the Sarajevo suburb of Ilidza on Wednesday,
but the talks yielded no results regarding the liberation of the
Bosniacs who had been detained in the last ten days. #L#
According to the Sarajevo IFOR Office for Public Relations,
General Walker said his soldiers did not have the role of local
police forces and freedom of movement had to be secured by the
signatories to the Bosnia peace agreement.
General Walker described the kidnapping as 'unfortunate
incidents', but he did not ask the Serbs to release the detained
Bosniacs. The Sarajevo IFOR headquarters could not confirm that any
of the detained in the Serb-controlled suburb of Ilidza have really
been released.
Ilidza Mayor Nedjeljko Prstojevic told General Walker that the
detained Bosniacs had mainly been dressed in military uniforms.
They were under investigation, Prstojevic said.
IFOR officials did not know the exact number of detained
Bosniacs, while Bosnian government representatives claim that at
least 16 persons had been kidnapped. The Serbs said they had
imprisoned eight persons and proposed to the Bosnian authorities to
exchange them as prisoners of war.
(hina) rm mm
031712 MET jan 96