1649 KOSOVO REFUGEES SEEK POLITICAL ASYLUM IN BOSNIA - SAYS UNHCR

( Editorial: --> 7382 ) SARAJEVO, Sept 1 (Hina) - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) mission in Bosnia by September 1 registered 1,649 refugees from Kosovo who had requested political asylum. According to UNHCR spokeswoman Ariane Quentier, the number of Kosovo refugees currently in Bosnia is a lot higher. The refugees usually do not register, either with the UNHCR or local authorities, but look for accommodation by themselves, she told reporters in Sarajevo. The Kosovo refugees in Bosnia have little possibility of moving to other countries, as Bosnia is considered to be a peace-time country without any danger for them. According to estimates of the Ministry for Refugees and Social Welfare of the Croat-Muslim Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, by late July at least 5,000 Kosovo refugees were believed to be in this Bosnian entity. (hina) ha jn 011744 MET sep 98