UN CONFIRMS DESTRUCTION OF CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BANJA LUKA

SARAJEVO, May 15 (Hina) - The UN in Sarajevo today confirmed that a Catholic church in Presnace near Banja Luka, northwestern Bosnia, had been destroyed by an explosion last Friday and that a priest and a nun had been killed. Kris Janowski, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said their bodies had been found in a "Caritas" building next to the church. Serb police did not allow UNHCR access to the building, so that Janowski could not specify causes of their deaths. Janowski said that four Roman Catholic churches had been blown up in the Banja Luka region in the last ten days. Priest Filip Lukenda was found with two wounds to the head, suggesting that he had probably been killed with fire-arms, the Archbishop's Office in Sarajevo said. Marks on the body of nun Cecilia Grgic also suggested that her death was not caused by fire. The Archbishop's Office suspected that the building was set on fire after the priest and the nun had been killed. (hina) jn rm vm 151723 MET may 95