From: U15231@uicvm.uic.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bosna-herzgvna
Subject: FPB-Oct.7
Date: 8 Oct 92 17:28:35 GMT
Article-I.D.: uicvm.92282.122835U15231
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago

From: BOSNET@math.lsa.umich.edu
Subject:    FPB-Oct.7
Reply-To: Iztok.Hozo@math.lsa.umich.edu
Organization: BOSNET (Bosnian Electronic Network)

Contribution by: Croatian-News



FOREIGN PRESS BUREAU, October 7, 1992

BOSANSKI BROD, B-H - Serbian forces  have  captured  the  last  town  in
northern  Bosnia still held by Muslims and Croatians after a fierce bat-
tle lasting several days. Bosanski Brod is on the  border  with  Croatia
and  refugees  from  the  fighting are reported to be fleeing across the
Sava river which now forms the front.  The loss of the town is  a  major
strategic  defeat for the Bosnian government.  For months, regular units
of the Croatian Army have fought alongside  Bosnian  government  forces,
attempting  to stem a Serbian push through northern Bosnia.  In a state-
ment confirming the loss of the town, Croatian and Bosnian  forces  said
their  casualties  were  not  heavy  and  added  that several buildings,
including the oil refinery, were burning. While Serbian  forces  pressed
into  town, several thousand refugees made their way across the river to
the town of Slavonski Brod, in Croatia.  There, the council leader  said
that the fall of Bosanski Brod was their worst fear but he did not think
that Serbian forces would attempt to cross the Sava.  Bosanski Brod  had
been  a  continuing threat to a land corridor between Serbia and Serbian
enclaves in  Croatia  and  Bosnia-Hercegovina.   That  corridor  is  now
immesurably  more  secure.  Slavonski Brod, which is habitually shelled,
is now the target of more Serbian guns.

At 3:10 Wednesday morning the bridge linking Bosanski Brod with  Croatia
was  blown  up,  severing the only link to northern Bosnia.  The fall of
Bosanski Brod comes after several days of fierce fighting  in  the  area
and  widespread  fighting  for the past 7 months. At one point, Croatian
and Bosnian forces had pushed as far south as Derventa (approx.  25  km.
south  of  Bosanski  Brod).  Defense positions in the area had collapsed
and Serbian forces managed to push their way north.  Serbian forces  had
gained  control of Korace, Novo Selo, Donja and Gornja Koliba yesterday.
Fires were reported to be burning and heavy  fighting  could  be  heard.
Soldiers  say  there is still a pocket of Croatian and Muslim resistance
near the town.  At the Army headquarters in Slavonski Brod, the military
police  chief  said  they  were  considering sending troops to reinforce
another pocket still holding out several  miles  down  river,  but  they
would  have to cross by boat.  He said that in the past 2 days of fight-
ing, approximately 250 people on  the  Croatian  Muslim  side  had  been
killed.   There  are  no  signs of bombardment of Bosanski Brod from the
Croatian side of the river,  as  alleged  by  Belgrade  radio.   Earlier
today,  Serbian  forces  had  warned  the Croatian authorities that they
would be forced to respond  unless  the  bombardment  of  Bosanski  Brod
stopped.

PREVLAKA, CROATIA - United Nations forces in Croatia have  been  author-
ized  to supervise the demilitarization of the strategic Prevlaka penin-
sula on the Adriatic coast near Dubrovnik. The UN will set up a  demili-
tarized  zone  on  the peninsula that will enable the remaining units of
the Yugoslav Army to leave Croatian soil and bring an end to the  fight-
ing near Dubrovnik.

SLAVONSKI BROD - The  United  Nations  High  Commissioner  for  Refugees
(UNHCR)  has sent 8 trucks to the Slavonski Brod area to assist with the
influx of refugees.  Twenty five tons of meals ready to eat (MRE's),  30
tons of blankets, and 20 tons of other items were included. Residents of
the city were warned to avoid roads near he river due to sniper fire.

BOSANSKA KRUPA, B-H - The town of Bosanska Krupa and the entire  defense
lines  are  reported to be under continual attack by Serbian units.  The
front lines on both sides of the Una river are reported to be holding.

GRADACAC, B-H - Serbian forces, supported  by  artillery,  attempted  to
break  through  the  defense  lines  Tuesday  night.   Yugoslav jets are
reported to have bombed the area with heavy bombs  and  air  to  surface
missles.   Damage  to  the  area is extensive, with numerous fires still
burning.  The latest information states that  new  equipment,  including
tanks and troops, have arrived and combined with existing Serbian troops
in their assault on the area.  Serbian forces are reported to have taken
over  some  outlying Muslim villages near Gradacac in the past 24 hours.
Many people are believed to have been killed in today's attacks but  the
exact number is unknown due to the level of fighting.

BIHAC, B-H - Serbian forces shelled all parts  of  Bihac  overnight  and
attempted  infantry  advances  on  the  front  lines.   The attacks were
repelled by defense forces.

MAGLAJ, B-H - Radio B-H reports that Yugoslav jets  bombed  Maglaj  this
morning.   Serbian  forces were also reported to have attempted infantry
attacks, supported by artillery on the  outlying  villages  and  defense
forces, but were forced back.

SARAJEVO, B-H - Sarajevo has again come under heavy bombardment.   Fires
are  burning  out  of control throughout the city.  Fighting is particu-
larly intense in the Muslim held district of Hrasno, which is covered in
smoke  from  fires  and explosions.  According to a commander of Bosnian
troops in Hrasno, his men are holding off an infantry assault, and  that
Serbs  have  sufferd serious casualties.  Fighting has made it difficult
to distribute relief supplies in the city, which is stll  without  elec-
tricity  and water.  Current relief flights and convoys are meeting less
than one third of the demand.  Sources in  the  Bosnian  Presidency  say
that earlier this week they intercepted a radio message from the Serbian
President, Slobodan Milosevic,  to  the  Bosnian  Serb  leader,  Radovan
Karadzic,  telling  him  to seize as much territory by this weekend.  On
Tuesday the Bosnian Serb leadership said  it  would  halt  all  military
flights  over  Bosnia-  Hercegovina,  but would resume flights if Muslim
forces continued their offensives.   The  announcement  is  seen  as  an
attempt  to  preempt  the  imposition  of  a military exlusion zone over
Bosnia by the UN.  The UN Security Council has unanimously agreed to set
up  a commission to investigate alleged war crimes in the countries that
used to make up Yugoslavia.  The resolution still does not  contain  any
mechanism  for  carrying  out  any prosecutions.  The Bosnian Ambassador
said if no provisions were made for prosecutions,  then  the  resolution
would be just a public relations gesture.

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Newsgroups: soc.culture.bosna-herzgvna,soc.culture.yugoslavia