SARAJEVO, 20 April (Hina) - IFOR representative in Sarajevo Max Marriner today confirmed that the situation in western Bosnia was calm after yesterday's incident which happened near Bosanska Otoka (western Bosnia) when some 400 Serbs
started a demonstration near a bridge on the Serb territory. The demonstration prompted a demonstration of several hundreds of Muslims on the other side of the bridge, who tried to cross it.
SARAJEVO, 20 April (Hina) - IFOR representative in Sarajevo Max
Marriner today confirmed that the situation in western Bosnia was
calm after yesterday's incident which happened near Bosanska Otoka
(western Bosnia) when some 400 Serbs started a demonstration near a
bridge on the Serb territory. The demonstration prompted a
demonstration of several hundreds of Muslims on the other side of
the bridge, who tried to cross it. #L#
Commander of the Czech IFOR unit in charge of the area
estimated that the situation was getting dangerous and ordered his
soldiers to fire several bullets above the heads of the gathered on
both sides of the bridge. After that, the demonstrators dispersed.
Later during the night, five buses with Serb demonstrators
arrived at the site and the protest started again. IFOR soldiers
blocked the bridge and the Serbs dispersed.
Marriner said that yesterday's demonstrations near Bosanska
Otoka represented a dangerous incident, adding that representatives
of IFOR, international police and local authorities would meet
today to discuss it and make sure that similar incidents do not
happen again.
Neither Serb nor Bosniac demonstrators had presented any
special requests, the IFOR representative said.
(hina) rm
201408 MET apr 96