ICRC APPEALS TO RESCUE CIVILIANS FROM PECIGRAD, WEST BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, Aug 3 (Hina) - Fierce fighting continued today between the Bosnian army's fifth corps and forces loyal to Fikret Abdic in the town of Pecigrad, western Bosnia. In the last two days the Bosnian army managed to capture a large part of the territory previously controlled by the troops loyal to Abdic, but some members of Abdic's fourth brigade remained in Pecigrad. The United Nations military observers reported that the area of Pecigrad had been pounded with 226 shell yesterday and last night, and they reported another 135 detonations from the crisis spot this morning, as the U.N. Protection Force (UNPROFOR) headquarters in Sarajevo stated on Wednesday. Pecigrad is now completely besieged, and at the moment there are several hundred civilians along with Abdic's troops under siege there, according to same sources. The Sarajevo office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued today an appeal for a rescue of the civilians in Pecigrad. The ICRC statement calls on all warring factions to make it possible that the civilians at risk might be evacuated from the town and that a possible tragedy can be prevented. (hina) mm 031418 MET aug 94