CHARGES PRESSED AGAINST PERPETRATORS IN BILJANE DONJE INCIDENT

( Editorial: --> 6960 ) ZADAR/ZAGREB, July 10 (Hina) - Zadar police on Friday reported that criminal charges have been pressed against an unidentified perpetrator who on Thursday planted mines in the village of Biljane Donje in the Zadar hinterland, causing the wounding of three peoples. Two explosive devices, planted on a macadam road in Biljane Donje, exploded one after the other on July 8, around 7.20am. One device was activated by a tractor carrying two persons of Serb nationality and the other went off after it was struck by a "Zastava 101" car with a driver of Croat nationality. "Nothing can excuse a wanton act calculated to cause death or serious injury," said a joint statement by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), issued on Friday. "The OSCE and the UNHCR want to make it very clear that the placing of these weapons constitutes a heinous crime which could have cost the life of any child or adult who happened to be in the area." The incident needs to be viewed in the context "of previous threats against the return of former inhabitants of Biljane Donje", the statement said. Three weeks ago, two hand-grenades were thrown into the yard of the house of the same Serb citizen who was wounded in yesterday's incident, the statement added. (hina) jn rml /mbr 101848 MET jul 98