MINE CLEARING BEGINS IN LIPOVAC

VINKOVCI, July 9 (Hina) - Clearing of mines in Lipovac, a village in the UNTAES-controlled area near the border with Yugoslavia, has begun on Tuesday. Croatian Reconstruction and Development Minister Jure Radic, UN Transitional Administrator in Eastern Slavonia, baranja and Western Srijem, Jacques Klein, U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith, numerous representatives of Croatian civilian authorities and Serb representatives from occupied Croatian areas visited Lipovac on Tuesday. The clearing of mines in Lipovljani is being done by special Croatian pyrotechnic groups "Mongoose". The beginning of reconstruction of houses is to begin on 1 August, Croatian Reconstruction and Development Minister Jure Radic said. According to the first assesments, some 50 million German marks will be needed for the reconstruction of Lipovci. Mine clearing will begin within several days in other villages in the occupied area which are in the pilot-programme of the return of refugees - Nijemci, Laslovo, Bilje and Antunovac. All conditions for the return of some 10,000 refugees to their homes would be created this year, Radic said. A session of the Centre for the construction of a regional water supply system for Posavina, Osijek and Vukovar counties took place in Vinkovci. Out of the necessary 400 million kunas for the construction of waterworks, 68 million kunas has been set aside from the credit of the World Bank and the Croatian Reconstruction and Development Bank. According to the plan, the waterworks should be completed by the end of 1999. (hina) lm jn 091818 MET jul 96