IFOR CONCERNED OVER CONTINUED DESTRUCTION OF MOSLEM VILLAGES

JAJCE, Oct 24 (Hina) - International organizations in Bosnia- Herzegovina on Thursday voiced great concern over the continued destruction of Moslem villages in Serb-held areas of the country. The villages of Pudici and Melici, situated in the northern Doboj area close to the inter-entity boundary, were razed on Wednesday, International Police Task Force (IPTF) spokesman Alun Roberts told a news conference in the southewestern town of Jajce. Villages in the Vrbanja river valley were destroyed ten days ago and the village of Brisevo near Prijedor was razed to the ground early this morning. Those were also Moslem villages, he said. Roberts said that there were no casualties because no one lived in those villages. In response to journalists' questions if IPTF and the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) could do more than just "express concern and follow the situation closely," Roberts cited the failure of local authorities and police to cooperate and the limited powers of IFOR and IPTF in such cases. IFOR spokesman Paul Brook said that an IFOR patrol had sighted a group of five Croatian Army soldiers in the central town of Prozor on October 21. The problem is that they were found armed on territory where they shouldn't be under provisions of the Dayton peace agreement, he said. After the press conference, Brook told a Hina reporter that no incident had occurred and that the Croatian troops had been on a visit to a local Bosnian Croat Defence Council (HVO) unit. After a brief explanation they left the territory of Bosnia- Herzegovina, Brook said. (hina) vm 242043 MET oct 96