BOSNIA: SERB FORCES ATTACK BIHAC

(24 Nov 1994) Eng/Nat
Serb forces are reported to be attacking the Bosnian Muslim enclave of Bihac again this evening. (Thursday).
The Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic said the Serbs were trying to surround the town and take it.
Earlier, Silajdzic and the United Nations commander for Bosnia said the situation around Bihac was stabilising.
Earlier, the U-N said it had negotiated safe passage for aid convoys to enter the town.
This morning the UN commander in Bosnia, Lieutenant General Sir Michael Rose and the Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic were optimistic about the progress made by peace negotiators in Belgrade yesterday.
The top U.N. official in former Yugoslavia, Yasushi Akashi had brokered a deal with the Croat Serb leader Milan Martic, to allow U-N-H-C-R aid convoys into Bihac today.
SOUNDBITE:
"The situation is the Bihac area is more stable now. We are working on a ceasefire in Bihac and possibly a ceasefire for the whole of Bosnia Herzegovina. The situation round Sarajevo is as far as I understand is very tense but it presents no more threat as General Rose said than before.
SUPER CAPTION: Haris Silajdzic, Bosnian Prime Minister
SOUNDBITE:
There has been progress as you know and Mr Akashi and General de la Pearl in Belgrade yesterday I understand we have now got authority to run convoys in through sector north for UNPROFOR and then for the long-suffering people of Bihac."
SUPER CAPTION: General Sir Michael Rose, UN commander in Bosnia
General Rose also talked about the situation in and around Sarajevo.
The Serbs are still detaining 55 Canadian soldiers outside Sarajevo and some 100 French soldiers are trapped by a Serb blockade of weapons dumps.
SOUNDBITE:
Of course another worry is the heightened level of tension in and around Sarajevo. As you know many of our UNPROFOR soldiers have been blocked in the weapon collecting sites and they have no freedom of movement at the moment. But I do not think that that consists of an increase of threat to the people here in Sarajevo and I think people should remain calm and we will work through this difficult period and I believe we will get back to the position we had in the summer where there was greater freedom of movement and very little tension or fighting along the line of conflict
SUPER CAPTION: General Sir Michael Rose, UN commander in Bosnia
Canadian troops around Visoko are waiting for the release of their colleagues, who are being held by Bosnian Serbs, protesting about Nato's air attacks.
The peace-keepers hope they can reach agreement with the Bosnian Serb Illijas brigade soon.
SOUNDBITE:
There was no aggression shown. It was just a matter of closing off the checkpoints and our people were detained. As I said no hostility just a matter of saying we're not letting you cross back into the other side of the territory the BIH territory. At that point in time we were quite content to wait and see what transpired and we're at that level right now we're still waiting for some sort of a negotiation offer or a decision from our higher headquarters and I must admit our Illijas brigade are being very co-operative
SUPER CAPTION: Captain Kent Stewart, Canadian 2nd Battalion
In Croatia Mr Akashi continued his shuttle diplomacy, meeting with President Franjo Tudjman.
He told Tudjman that the Croatian Serb leader Milan Martic had agreed not to give cross- border support to Bosnian Serbs attacking Bihac.
SOUNDBITE:
SUPER CAPTION: Yasushi Akashi, UN Official in Bosnia.
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