BOSNIAN SERB TROOPS ENTER MRKONJIC-GRAD UNDER NATO SUPERVISION

MRKONJIC-GRAD, March 21 (Hina) - Bosnian Serb military forces entered the western Bosnian town of Mrkonjic-grad on Thursday under strict control of IFOR troops and NATO aircraft. About 1,000 Bosnian Serb troops with twelve 120-mm and twenty-four 80-mm mortars and about 100 trucks loaded with military equipment arrived in Mrkonjic-grad from Banja Luka in keeping with the US-sponsored Dayton peace agreement for Bosnia- Herzegovina. British Major Alastair Ross, a spokesman for the NATO-led peace Implementation Force (IFOR), told reporters in Mrkonjic- grad that the weapons and equipment of the Serb forces were placed eight kilometres outside the town, in a location called Kula. Brigadier Richard Danett, commander of the British 4th Armoured Brigade, said that IFOR and UNHCR would try to return all refugees and displaced people to the area. "IFOR also supports the return of the Croat and Moslem population to Mrkonjic-grad although it will take some time to restore confidence between the three nations," he added. Danett said that he understood from talks with Bosnian Serb civilian authorities in the town that they supported the return of Croats and Moslems who had lived in the area before the war. (hina) vm 212330 MET mar 96