ZAGREB, Jan 23 (Hina) - The United Nations is expecting that the UNTAES (UN Transitional Administration of Eastern Slavonia) force will be in full strength until March of April, a UN spokesman, Philip Arnold, said in Zagreb on
Tuesday.
ZAGREB, Jan 23 (Hina) - The United Nations is expecting that the
UNTAES (UN Transitional Administration of Eastern Slavonia) force
will be in full strength until March of April, a UN spokesman,
Philip Arnold, said in Zagreb on Tuesday. #L#
'We are expecting that the all troops will be in full strength
as soon as possible, in March or April this year. We hope it will
be in March,' Arnold told a press conference.
Consultations on composition of the UNTAES force are under way
in New York. Belgian and Russian 1,569-strong battalions, that have
already in place in the Croatian Danubian areas, are remaining
there as part of the future force.
Under a resolution of the UN Security Council, the UNTAES
force will consist of up to 5,000 troops. Belgium has been offered
that its officer command the force, and the Brussels government has
accepted it in principle.
Argentina and Slovakia have agreed to send their soldiers.
According to the spokesman Arnold, UN has contacted with Ukraine,
Indonesia and several other countries about matter.
The preparations are going on for establishing the UNTAES
headquarters and office in eastern Slavonia, Baranja and western
Sirmium.
During first four or five weeks the Transitional
Administration will work in Zagreb before it moves into Vukovar,
according to him.
The chief of forces for the establishment of the Transitional
Administration, Gerard Fisher, has already talked with the Croatian
Government and local Serb representatives about the implementation
of the Basic Agreement, and he has given an initiative to re-open
the Zagreb-Lipovac-Belgrade highway.
At a meeting held in Lipovac on January 19, Croatian General
Djuro Decak, Serb General Dusan Loncar, and UN and IFOR (NATO-led
Implementation Force) officials agreed on re-opening of the
highway.
'The highway should be re-opened for the UN and IFOR traffic
on January 25, depending on results of the technical survey that is
to be carried out today,' Arnold announced.
He added that Croatian and Serbian governments should agree on
the civilian traffic along the highway.
UN civilian and military policemen are supposed to provide the
security of the highway section in the still occupied Croatian
areas.
(hina) jn mms
231620 MET jan 96