DECISION ON REDUCTION IN SFOR TROOPS TO BE MADE ON TUESDAY

WASHINGTON, May 27 (Hina) - The number international peace keepers in Bosnia should be reduced soon to 18,000. At present, there are 21,000 international troops deployed in Bosnia and of them 3,600 are Americans. The final decision on the cut of troops will be made a ministerial meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NEC), scheduled for Tuesday in Budapest. NATO military planning specialists were under the US pressure to make a larger cut in the number of the deployed troops. However, the opinion prevails that some 3,000 soldiers should be sent home. Of them, 500 will be US troops. The Alliance Commander Joseph Ralston admitted that a larger reduction would be risky as long as Bosnia's police and judiciary were not efficient. Thus, Ralston confirmed the opinion of US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that soldiers deployed within SFOR (Stabilisation Force) should do jobs for which they were not trained and which should be performed by somebody else. International peace keepers entered Bosnia after the signing of the Dayton peace agreement in early 1996. At the time 60,000 troops were deployed, and Americans accounted for one third. Washington has earmarked 1.5 billion dollars to cover this year's costs of US SFOR troops. This is the highest US investment in the area of former Yugoslavia. (hina) ms