UNPROFOR PRESS RELEASE

ZAGREB, Nov 27 (Hina) - Operations of the Nordic Battalion in the Tuzla area of north Bosnia-Herzegovina are being hampered by the refusal of a local Bosnian Serb commander to allow essential UN supplies to be transported from Serbia, said the UNPROFOR press release on Saturday afternoon. A convoy is now waiting for clearance on the Serbian side of the border, following a threat by the local commander of the Bosnian Serb forces at the bridge to use force against the convoy, said UNPROFOR's Force Commander General Jean Cot. "Nordic Battalion is suffering from a shortage of critical equipment necessary to carry out its mission in support of humanitarian operations," said General Cot. He added that the obstruction of the convoy by the local Bosnian Serb commander contravened the 18 November agreement on the free passage of humanitarian convoys in Bosnia-Herzegovina, said the press release. 271802 MET nov 93