USORA IS ANOTHER TEST FOR FEDERATION - BOSNIAN CROAT GENERAL

NOVI TRAVNIK, central Bosnia, Jan 20 (Hina) - A top-ranking Bosnian Croat officer with the joint Bosnian federal armed force staff on Saturday offered additional explanation for recent tensions and incidents in central Bosnia. The HVO regional command in Vitez had fulfilled the Dayton obligations 72 hours before the deadline, Major General Filip Filipovic said, referring to the key obligations imposed to all sides -- to pull two kilometers back from the current positions and to remove minefields left behind. Meanwhile the Bosnian army troops also withdrew, he added. But to pull back from its previous positions against the Serb forces, the Bosnian army 373th Doboj brigade had to enter the area around two Croat populated villages of Ularice and Alibegovci. The area had already been controlled by the HVO's 110th regiment. "Formally speaking, the Bosnian army unit had only accomplished the Dayton task. But it was totally unacceptable in political terms, since the area had already been under 110th regiment's control and had Croat local population and civilian structure," Gen. Filipovic said. "The problem may be solved easily in military terms, but the Bosnian government Interior Ministry intended to send 1,500 police officers into the area and thus to dismantle existing (Croat) and establish new (Bosniac) authority there, in violation of the (1994) Washington Accord. The incidents occurred in time when Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and Bosnian army had "developed a remarkable cooperation in implementation of the Dayton agreement," Major Gen. Filip Filipovic said, adding that current situation in Usora pocket was another test for both federal partners. (Hina) bk 201334 MET jan 96