Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 7, 1995 TAG: 9508070088
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: ZAGREB, CROATI LENGTH: Medium
``The self-styled Krajina no longer exists,'' a Ministry of Defense spokesman, Gen. Ivan Tolj, said at a 6 p.m. news conference Sunday in which he spoke with evident delight about the ``ex-army of the ex-Krajina.'' The territory had been held by rebel Croatian Serbs since 1991.
He said a rebel tank company was still holding out in the eastern part of the Krajina, but that it was encircled, and if the rebels did not surrender, Croatian troops would ``deal with them'' today. The territory captured included the strategic Udbina airfield.
But victory celebrations here were marred by charges that, on two occasions during the three days of fighting, Croatian soldiers had forced Danish peacekeepers and captured rebels to act as human shields during army advances.
In a formal protest, the Danish government described the actions as ``totally unacceptable'' and a ``serious violation'' of international law.
Tolj denied the allegations, saying they were designed to stain Croatia's image.
In Knin, the rebel Serbs' capital, which was retaken Saturday by Croatia, the situation was described Sunday by the United Nations as ``desperate.'' Sections of the city were ablaze and there were ``bodies in the streets,'' said a U.N. spokesman, Chris Gunness. The United Nations also reported ``significant looting'' in the city by Croatian soldiers.
As the fighting eased, the focus began to shift to the plight of civilians, and the United Nations said it was running into difficulties from the Croatian government in assisting them.
A U.N. patrol that tried to go into the center of Knin was stopped just outside its base on the outskirts of town by a Croatian combat unit with tanks, Gunness said.
U.N. officials said they estimated that 60,000 Serbs from the Krajina were fleeing toward Bosnia and warned of a ``looming humanitarian crisis.'' Some aid officials in Bosnia and Serbia put the number higher, at as many as 100,000.
The United Nations would like to stave off a large-scale exodus by making it safe for Serbs who live in the Krajina to remain there.
In order to assist civilians caught by the war in the Krajina and monitor the human rights situation, the United Nations has demanded access to the areas most affected by the fighting. The U.N. also wants to use its equipment and manpower to restore water and electricity in areas where utilities have been damaged by fighting and to get bread back in the stores.
But U.N. officials said Sunday that the Croatian government was blocking its efforts.
Later in the day, Croatia agreed to allow U.N. agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross to monitor the human rights situation in the area.
The U.N. officials and diplomats fear a repeat of what happened in Western Slavonia, another region that had been held by rebel Serbs, after the Croatian government launched a successful military operation there in May. The Croatian forces committed a large number of human rights abuses and thousands of Serbs fled. The United Nations was kept out of the area for six days.
Tolj said that there was no reason for people to flee, that Serbs would be given the same rights as all citizens of Croatia. ``Those who stayed in Western Slavonia today lead a happy life,'' he said.
Residents who remained in Western Slavonia, as well as U.N. officials and diplomats, say, however, that they are mistreated by Croats and live in fear.
It was unclear how the Croatian victory would affect the fighting in Bosnia, especially the Bihac area on the Croatian border. The enclave, a U.N.-protected ``safe area,'' had been under attack by rebel Muslims and Serbs, who had been assisted by Krajina Serb forces.
The Croatian army has said it will help the Bosnian government defend Bihac. There was mounting concern here among U.N. officials and diplomats that fleeing Krajina Serb soldiers would become part of the Bosnian Serb army.
There are still no figures on the number of civilian or military casualties during the three days of fighting.
The United Nations said Sunday, however, that three of its peacekeepers had been killed and eight wounded, all in attacks by the Croatian army. The Croats assaulted 65 U.N. posts, forcing 315 soldiers to abandon their duties, they said, and 61 peacekeepers - 28 Czechs and 33 Kenyans - were missing.
by CNB