By our Foreign Staff
A BRITISH soldier was shot yesterday in central Bosnia, as Serbs
ignored US warnings and reneged on their promise to lift the Sarajevo
siege.
The soldier was hit in the chest when his armoured car came under fire
from Croat gunmen. His patrol was raked with small arms fire in the town
of Gornji Vakuf.
Battalion commander Colonel Alastair Duncan said the shots had come
from Bosnian Croat HVO forces but he did not know if the attack was
deliberate or the British UN troops were simply caught in crossfire.
''We understand that the fire came from the direction of the cemetery
where we understand the HVO have some trenches,'' he said.
The soldier was treated in Gornji Vakuf and then taken to hospital at
the British military base at Vitez. His condition was described as
serious but stable.
Colonel Duncan, of the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire,
said they would not change operational procedures as a result of the
attack.
Gornji Vakuf has been the scene of fierce fighting between Muslim and
Croat forces. The Muslims have taken control of most of the town but
Croat units earlier this week mounted a counter-attack.
Meanwhile American Secretary of State Warren Christopher warned the
Bosnian Serbs they must stop ''strangling'' Sarajevo or face military
action. Talks had failed to get the Serbs to live up to their pledge to
withdraw from two strategic mountains overlooking the Bosnian capital.
Hardline Serb commander General Ratko Mladic and the Muslim military
chief Rasim Delic met at Sarajevo Airport for six hours under the
chairmanship of UN commander General Francis Briquemont. Newly captured
Serb positions on Mount Bjelasnica and Mount Igman were to be
surrendered to the UN under a promise on Thursday by Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic.
General Briquemont said talks would continue tomorrow. ''The
discussions were very difficult but we have decided to go on.''
Senior UN sources said the chief sticking point was General Mladic's
refusal to give up control
A Scot has been recommended by UN Secretary-General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali, along with two other candidates, to the Security Council
for the post of chief prosecutor of the war crimes tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia. Mr J. Duncan Lowe has been a Crown Agent since 1991.
Mr Lowe, educated at Hamilton Academy and Glasgow University, was a
regional procurator-fiscal in Lothian and Borders before taking up the
post as Crown Agent.
of key areas and an attempt by him to tell UN forces where to deploy.
The Serb offer to withdraw had been seen as a key step in persuading
Bosnia's Muslim-led government to return to peace negotiations in Geneva
which it has been boycotting over the Serb assault on the mountains.
Time could be running out for the Serbs. After talks with Nato
Secretary-General Manfred Woerner, Mr Christopher said a final decision
on Western military strikes could come after the alliance meets to
discuss options on Monday.
''The international community cannot accept the bombing of citizens
and the laying of siege to cities,'' Mr Christopher said. ''It's time
for Serbs to stop strangling Sarajevo.''
Mr Christopher met the Nato chief at Aviano air base in northern
Italy, which is being used by US fighters operating over Bosnia.
Britain's Field-Marshal Sir Richard Vincent, chairman of Nato's military
committee, its highest military authority, took part in the talks.
In Washington, President Clinton consulted his advisers on US
strategy, while Nato strategists finished their contingency plans for
bombing raids. The blueprints, expected to include a wide-ranging list
of Serb targets, will be reviewed today by high-ranking Nato military
officials.
Diplomats from all 16 Nato states will then meet on Monday to decide
whether to approve the plans.
As Nato flexed its muscles, however, UN General Briquemont criticised
possible air strikes, warning they could bring down Serb retaliation on
his 9000 peacekeeping troops.
His fears may be realised. In preparation for being sent into action,
Nato planes have begun making practice runs.
Nearly 70 RAF, American, French, and Dutch fighters are stationed at
Italian air bases from where they would swoop into the war zone.
Opposition to the idea mounted not only among peacekeeping forces in
Bosnia, but also among aid agencies, the peace mediators and some
European countries.
In Geneva, mediator Lord Owen suggested threats of air strikes had
disrupted the talks. Diplomats say they believe the Bosnian Muslims are
actually dragging their feet in the hope that Nato might bomb Serb
positions.
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