11 Killed as Fighting Increases in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina

At least 11 people died and dozens were wounded Tuesday as fighting sharply escalated in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The violence threatened to delay the deployment of the U.N. peacekeeping force.

The death toll was among the highest of any day since a U.N.-negotiated truce began Jan. 3.

Col. Gen. Satish Nambiar of India, the commander of the U.N. peacekeepers who started arriving last week, warned that the fighting could postpone the full deployment of the 14,000-member force, which is scheduled to be completed by April 25.

Cease-fire violations “have increased of late and assumed serious extent in some areas,” the Tanjug news agency quoted Nambiar as saying from his headquarters in Sarajevo, Bosnia’s capital.

The U.N. force is supposed to keep the peace while Serbs and Croats politically reshape the old Yugoslav federation and mend the differences that led them into the war, which has left as many as 10,000 dead since June.

The intense fighting appeared to represent last-minute jockeying for power and territory among the many factions that are to disarm under the U.N. peace plan.