U.N. SAYS YUGOSLAV ARMY PRESENCE IN EASTERN CROATIA POSSIBLE

ZAGREB, March 28 (Hina) - The UN Protection Force is investigating a Croatian report that the Yugoslav army has concentrated troops in UN Sector East of Croatia. But UNPROFOR today stressed that there was no no evidence that about 900 Yugoslav soldiers had crossed a bridge at Batina into eastern Croatia. Although UN peackeepers had not seen a larger concentration of Yugoslav army troops, their presence in that Sector could not be ruled out, UNPROFOR spokesman Christopher Gunnes told a press conference in Zagreb. There was no confirmation on whether military exercises in Sector East had ended or if the weapons Serbs had taken from UN storage areas had been returned. The UN had been monitoring the momevement of Croatian Serb tanks and the relocation of their troops, Gunnes said. Serb forces would not allow UN personnel to inspect three weapons storage sites in UN Sector North, Gunnes said. (hina) sd vm 281721 MET mar 95