Serbs Violating ‘No-Fly’ Zone, U.S. Says
Accusing Serbian forces of violating the new Bosnian “no fly” zone, the Bush Administration said Tuesday it has begun to sound out members of the U.N. Security Council on ways to enforce the order intended to ground all military aircraft in the bloody ethnic war.
“The Security Council is bound to consider further actions in the case of violations,” State Department spokesman Joe Snyder said.
The council approved a watered-down resolution Friday banning warplanes from the skies over Bosnia. But it rejected American demands to authorize allied air forces to shoot down any planes violating the ban. The resolution said the council will consider other steps in the event of violations.
Snyder said that Bosnian Serb warplanes conducted “numerous” sorties, including bombing runs, on Saturday, just hours after the U.N. vote. The aircraft remained on the ground Sunday and Monday but returned to the air Tuesday, he said.
Meantime, there were reports Tuesday of Serbian police clashing with ethnic Albanian demonstrators in southern Kosovo province, the next potential hot spot of ethnic violence in the region.
Yugoslav Prime Minister Milan Panic appealed for calm in Kosovo and announced that he will travel Thursday to the province.
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