ONE KILLED, SIX WOUNDED IN SERB ATTACK AT REFUGEES - MOSLEM OFFICI

MOSLEM OFFICI $ AL TUZLA, Nov 12 (Hina) - One person was killed and six were wounded, of whom three seriously, in a Bosnian Serb attack, on Tuesday morning, on Gajevi, a village between Celic and Koraj in the separation zone in northeastern Bosnia, a local Moslem official said. The director of the Tuzla-based cantonal office for return of refugees, Fadil Banjanovic, said that Serbs fired about 30 shells on the village at 07:30 a.m. Tuesday, because about 400 Moslem refugees had returned on Monday to repair their homes. Banjanovic accused Russian battalion troops (serving with the IFOR in Sector North) of showing Serb artillery where there were tents with Moslem returnees that were targets of the attack. Moslem civilians fled Gajevi, due to the attack, and came to an IFOR check point where they remained until 01:00 p.m. Presently Moslems departed to Gajevi. According to allegations of eye-witnesses quoted at the Tuzla television, about 200 Serb policemen re-opened fire from heavy arms at the Moslem returnees. The eye-witnesses claimed that after the attack Russian IFOR troops at a Celic check-point had refused to protect them or to help the wounded, which resulted in the death of one person, Mehmed Arnautovic. They also claimed that they had no arms. IFOR Sector North headquarters confirmed that one Moslem had been died, but it said the cause of his dead was not known. IFOR confirmed that there had been gun-fire, and said that IFOR troops had separated two former warring sides and taken away arms from both Serbs and Moslems. According to the IFOR report, only one Dutch IFOR soldier was wounded in the vicinity of Gajevi, and it was said that he was wounded because of accidental firing of a gun which a Serb policeman was wearing. The Dutch was taken to an army health centre to receive first aid. The Tuzla-based International Police Task Force (IPTF) could not confirm that refugees had come under shell fire at Gajevi, as no IPTF policeman was on the site of the incident when it had happened. On Tuesday evening the Tuzla-based cantonal office for the return of refugees demanded from the international community, IFOR, IPTF and UNHCR to create conditions for the return of Moslem refugees by the noon on Thursday, or, it would not be responsible for behaviour of embittered villagers, according to the office's statement. The IFOR Sector North public relations office said the situation in Celic and Gajevi was under control. IFOR troops set up eight check-points at exit roads from Celici to Gajevi, whereas at Gajevi, Serb police and IFOR troops were being situated. According to latest reports by Tuzla television journalists, the situation in Celic was tense and residents were gathered this evening in order to set out to the Serb entity again. (hina) jn mŠ 130005 MET nov 96