KARADZIC'S SUPPORTERS TRY TO PROVOKE INCIDENTS IN BANJA LUKA

LUKA $ SARAJEVO, Sept 9 (Hina) - The situation in Banja Luka, northwestern Bosnia, was considerably calm on Tuesday morning, international officials said in Sarajevo today. The highest number of busses carrying sympathisers of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), whose former leader was Radovan Karadzic, to this party's election rally in Banja Luka, were stopped at accesses to Banja Luka and after that they returned to Bijeljina and eastern Bosnia. A spokesman for the NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) said that only 17 busses remained at one road leading to Banja Luka, the seat Biljana Plavsic, the president of the Bosnian Serb entity. The spokesman, John Bleakley, said that clubs, stones and even arms were found in busses during their checks, and this indicated that there were intentions to cause conflict with local residents in that Bosnian city. He confirmed that at the accesses to Banja Luka shoot-outs were registered over the night when a policeman loyal to Biljana Plavsic was hurt. After that Banja Luka police caught five armed people believed to be security force loyal to Karadzic and the leadership placed at Pale (outside Sarajevo). The arrested men managed to run away, but their three Mercedes cars remained in the hands of Banja Luka police. The SFOR spokesman said that on early Tuesday morning NATO soldiers entered a base of the 6th brigade of anti-terrorist police in Rakovicka Brda near Banja Luka. All policemen from that brigade controlled by Pale authorities were told to leave the base and hand over arms and official documents. Blakeley said that NATO reinforced troops had been deployed in a wide area of Pale and Jahorina since Tuesday morning. The action was taken as the deadline for the reorganisation of special police expired on Monday (September 8) and those police forces that did not respect the deadline would be disbanded. (hina) jn mš 091507 MET sep 97