Mild Quake, Rumors of Coup Strike Beleaguered Sarajevo

This embattled capital was rocked Monday by a mild earthquake and rumors of a coup against the Bosnian government.

But neither event did more than rattle a population hardened by months of siege and shelling, and there were no reports of casualties or damage caused by the 4.1 magnitude tremor.

Fueling the coup rumors, Croatia’s HINA news agency reported the arrest of a Bosnian military commander it identified only as “Juka,” saying he tried to seize control of the army defending Sarajevo.

HINA was apparently referring to Juka Prazina, hailed by many as a Bosnian Robin Hood who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Others accuse him of criminal activities, including involvement in Bosnian Serb car-theft rings.

But in one promising development Monday, Bosnia’s Muslim leader agreed to accept a degree of regional autonomy in his embattled republic and issued a joint pledge with the leader of Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia to end the war.

Bosnia’s Muslim president, Alija Izetbegovic, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and President Dobrica Cosic of Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia have been meeting in Geneva to seek an end to the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

At the U.N.- and European Community-sponsored talks late Monday, Izetbegovic and Cosic pledged to work to lift the Serbian siege on Sarajevo, disband paramilitary units and normalize relations.