UN TROOPS' DEPARTURE FROM CROATIA TO AGGRAVATE SITUATION IN BOSNIA

BOSNIA $ , UN FEARS SARAJEVO, Feb 2 (Hina) - A military spokesman for UNPROFOR in Sarajevo, Gary Coward, said today that all possible consequences were now being considered of UN peace keepers' departure from Croatia for their mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina. There were no doubts that the business of 'blue helmets' in Bosnia would be aggravated if the UN troops left Croatia, Coward said. He warned of specific dangers caused by possible flare ups of conflict in Croatia following the UN peace keepers' exit. The entire UNPROFOR operation in Bosnia depended on Croatian seaports through which supplies for UN 'blue helmets' were transported. UNPROFOR officials in Sarajevo believed that this part of their mission would be threatened if 'blue helmets' left Croatia, Coward complained. An UNPROFOR civilian affairs spokesman in Sarajevo, Alexander Ivanko, said the UN headquarters for the former Yugoslavia, now situated in Zagreb, might be forced to relocate if the UN troops withdrew from Croatia. Another site for UNPROFOR's main headquarters had not been found so far. Sarajevo was taken into account as a possible a location for this purpose, Ivanko said. However, senior Croatian officials have told the UN several times that the cancellation of UNPROFOR's current mandate does not mean the end of cooperation with the UN. Furthermore, Croatia has told the UN that its headquarters could stay in Zagreb, and that complete logistics support to UN troops in Bosnia could be delivered from Croatia. (hina) jn sd mms 021425 MET feb 95