BOSNEWS digest 435 -- 17/10/95

Bosnia-Herzegovina News Directory

From: Dzevat Omeragic <dzevat@ee.mcgill.ca>

In other developments in the region, Serbian forces finally allowed a U.N. convoy to reach Gorazde from Sarajevo on October 17. Free movement for civilian and U.N. traffic between the two besieged cities is a provision of the tenuous cease-fire in effect in Bosnia. Fighting continues in northwestern Bosnia, however.

On October 17 Croatia rejected a new round of negotiations with Serbian forces occupying eastern Slavonia. The move increases speculation that Zagreb might soon attempt to liberate the region by force. Croatian Army movements in recent days have provoked calls by Western powers for restraint on the part of Croatia.

Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Secretary of Defense William Perry, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Shalikashvili testified before Senate hearings on October 17. They defended the Clinton Administration's plans to deploy approximately 20,000 U.S. troops to help implement a peace settlement in Bosnia.