Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 7, 1995 TAG: 9506070066
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MALI ZVORNIK, YUGOSLAVIA LENGTH: Medium
Two buses carrying the 108 troops from Britain, France, Ukraine and Spain crossed the Drina River into this border town, said Jovica Stanisic, the Serbian president's security chief.
The release came after days of U.N. pressure, international negotiations and intervention by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, whose office issued a statement minutes after the release saying all U.N. hostages should be free ``in the next few days.''
The release was likely to help ease tensions between the Bosnian Serbs and the United Nations, whose NATO members have been mustering military might in response to the hostage-taking.
The Bosnian Serbs seized hundreds of U.N. hostages after NATO bombed ammunition dumps May 25 and 26. The Serbs had demanded guarantees of no more airstrikes before agreeing to release any of them. It was unclear early today if such a guarantee had been given.
Asked whether the Bosnian Serbs had received anything in return for the release of the hostages, Stanisic replied: ``I can't answer that. Our only task is to help in this crisis.''
Belgrade's independent BETA news agency, however, quoted an unnamed high-ranking Bosnian Serb as saying they had received assurances from NATO that there would be no more air raids - a key condition the West has refused to consider to date.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly said Milosevic helped with the hostage situation but showed no interest in a proposal that he recognize Bosnia in exchange for a suspension of U.N. economic sanctions.
Milosevic's recognition of Bosnia would further isolate rebel Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia and undermine their dream of uniting territory they hold with Serbia.
Milosevic insists on an ironclad lifting of economic sanctions against his nation. Washington, however, wants to be able to reintroduce them if necessary.
Fighting continued Tuesday. Two civilians were killed and one wounded when five shells hit the Bosnian city of Bihac, a U.N.-declared ``safe area.''
Meanwhile, about 1,500 U.S. troops and attack helicopters were preparing to move from Germany to Italy. They will train to ensure ``they are on the razor's edge of readiness,'' said U.S. Army-Europe spokesman Col. Richard Bridges in Heidelberg, Germany. The units being deployed can help withdraw or reposition U.N. peacekeepers in Bosnia.
The Pentagon said Tuesday it was reconsidering the size and scope of the operation. Republican congressional leaders sought restrictions on the use of U.S. ground forces in the war-torn region.
Pentagon officials had said Monday that some 3,500 troops would be positioned at bases in Italy in the event they were needed for a withdrawal of beleaguered U.N. peacekeepers from Bosnia.
by CNB