IFOR COMMANDER TO BE REPLACED ON THURSDAY

SARAJEVO, Nov 4 (Hina) - An official hand-over of command over the NATO-led Implementation Force in charge of implementing the peace agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina will be announced at the Sarajevo airport on Thursday. NATO's commander Admiral Joseph Lopez will be replaced by US General William Crouch, main commander of NATO ground forces in central Europe. #L# Present at the transfer of command would be NATO Secretary- General Janvier Solana and main NATO commander in Europe George Joulwan, a statement from IFOR headquarters in Sarajevo said on Monday. The transfer of command over IFOR is to be carried out as part of preparations for the withdrawal of the most part of troops which had been deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina to strengthen peace and to implement the Dayton Agreement. The mandate of the Implementation Force expires on December 20, but the withdrawal of troops has been planned to continue to the end of March 1997. IFOR consists of around 60,000 soldiers at the moment, but 20,000 to 25,000 troops are planned to remain in Bosnia in 1997. Admiral Lopez who is to leave his current duty of commander of NATO's south wing and return to Napoli in three days, held talks with highest officials of both entities before leaving Bosnia. IFOR spokesman Simon Haselock said that during talks with president of the Serb entity Biljana Plavsic, Lopez had asked the Serb authorities to cooperate in the investigations into the destruction of houses in abandoned villages and in discovering war crimes suspects. The Serbs authorities had been clearly warned that they had to prevent new destruction and to cooperate so that war crimes suspects could be removed, Haselock said. (hina) lm 041305 MET nov 96