Continued Fighting in Bosnia Could End EC-Brokered Talks
Battles flared across the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday, putting in doubt peace talks chaired by the European Community.
An EC representative at talks with leaders of Muslim, Serb and Croat forces fighting over Bosnia’s newly won independence said the EC might pull out of the negotiations unless the bloodshed stops.
“If the fighting does not stop and the people continue to kill each other, there is no point having talks,” said Colin Doyle, a special EC ambassador at the talks on Bosnia’s future.
Serb forces opposing secession battled with Muslim and Croat fighters in towns across the republic, and many were feared killed.
Sarajevo radio said at least 11 people had been killed in the past 24 hours, six of them in the capital, Sarajevo, where a tram and bus station was hit by shelling.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ralph Johnson arrived in Sarajevo, the republic’s capital, with two planeloads of emergency aid and a letter of U.S. support for Bosnia from Secretary of State James A. Baker III.
Speaking after meeting Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, a Muslim, Johnson said, “We talked about the assistance brought here today, which is humanitarian and a symbol of our concern for Bosnia.”
Hundreds are feared killed and 170,000 have been driven from their homes since fighting erupted over Bosnia’s independence.
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