Cease-Fire OKd in Bosnian Town

Muslim and Croatian leaders agreed Tuesday to a cease-fire in a town near Sarajevo, but their anti-Serb coalition in the Bosnian war remained shaky.

Croatian militiamen overran the Muslim-held town of Prozor after four days of fighting, forcing its 3,000 inhabitants to flee, according to the commander of Muslim-led Bosnian government forces there. But Croatian officials denied taking the town.

Both sides met Tuesday and agreed to pull their fighters from the town, sources said.

The Bosnian war began when Serbs rebelled against the majority Muslims and Croats, who voted for secession Feb. 29.

Muslims and Croats had been nominally allied, but Croats have increasingly joined Serbs in demanding the partitioning of Bosnia-Herzegovina along ethnic lines. Serbs and Croats have seized control of virtually all of Bosnia-Herzegovina during fighting that has killed more than 14,000 people.

Muslims, who made up 40% of the prewar population, oppose ethnic regions, fearing that Serbia and Croatia want to annex their areas. It now appears that Croatian militias are content to fight alongside Muslim troops where Serbs still threaten Croatian interests but are prepared to challenge Muslims in Serb-free zones.