OFFICIAL DISCUSS SECURITY IN SOUTHERN BOSNIAN TOWN

MOSTAR, Nov 16 (Hina) - The Croat and Bosniak leaders of the Hercegovina-Neretva Canton's Interior Ministry and Croat and Bosniak municipal officials in Stolac met representatives of the International Police Task Force (IPTF) and the UN Mission to Bosnia on Friday to discuss security in Stolac after recent incidents, the ministry said in a statement. According to official reports, one Croat pupil got hurt in a fight between Croat and Bosniak pupils in the southern Bosnian town on Wednesday. This has caused tensions in Stolac. Croat and Bosniak sources keep accusing one another for the escalating situation. According to Bosniak sources, 50 percent of Bosniaks who resided in Stolac prior to the war have returned to the municipality. Between 3,000 and 4,000 refugee Croats from Central Bosnia have settled there. Adding to the tensions is the Bosniaks' intention to rebuild a mosque in the town's centre which was demolished during the war. The Croats from Stolac, while not objecting to the reconstruction, publicly disapprove of its being built on the location of a Catholic Church which disappeared with the arrival of Turkish authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Everyone who participated in today's meeting agreed the fight among the pupils should be resolved in its entirety, and, based on the results of the investigation, those responsible be punished. (hina) np sb