SERBS SHELL BIHAC SAFE AREA, U.N. FAILS TO RESPOND

SARAJEVO, April 3 (Hina) - UN officials in Sarajevo today described a Serb artillery attack on Bihac yesterday as an open threat to one of the "safe areas" in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A military spokesman for the UN Protection Force said that at least eight 130mm shells hit central Bihac while another seven exploded inside the "safe area". UNPROFOR spokesman Herve Gourmelon said that the main target of the Serb attack was the central police station southeast of the town centre. The attack did not cause any casualties or significant damage. Renegade Moslem forces and rebel Serbs from Croatia carried out a joint attack on the village of Vrnograc, east of the Bihac pocket town of Velika Kladusa. The UN counted a total of 381 explosions and confirmed that there was no change in Bosnian army positions. UN officials tried to justify UNPROFOR's failure to respond to repeated Serb attacks on Bihac, stressing that there were no civilian casualties. UN spokesman Alexander Ivanko said that the decision not to react was made by UN Force commander in Bosnia Gen. Rupert Smith. Bihac has been the target of Serb attacks for 24 times in the past week alone. UNPROFOR failed to respond every time. (Hina) bk 031443 MET apr 95