Bosnia Raises War’s Death Toll 25%

Bosnian Serb shells allegedly struck a Croatian town Monday in violation of a new cease-fire, and the Bosnian government raised its toll of dead in the civil war by about 25%.

The Health Ministry in Sarajevo said that 17,466 people have been killed, 2,839 of them in Sarajevo, since the Bosnian war began nearly eight months ago. The previous count was 14,000.

The ministry also said that more than 111,000 people are missing and 134,132 people have been wounded. However, it tallied casualties only in the limited areas still under the Muslim-led government’s control.

Fighting continued Monday in several parts of the republic despite a regional cease-fire accord agreed to last week between the Croatian army and Bosnian Serb forces.

U.N. officials said two Spanish peacekeepers were seriously wounded south of Sarajevo when their vehicle ran over a mine. They were expected to survive.

Muslim-led government troops and Serb rebels exchanged infantry fire and dueled with artillery around Sarajevo airport, but there were no reports of interference with a U.N. aid airlift to the city’s 380,000 people.

Bosnia’s Health Ministry said that relief shipments of food and drugs into Sarajevo last week fell well short of needs.

Meanwhile, the Croatian Defense Ministry in Zagreb reported a heavy artillery bombardment of Zupanja, in eastern Croatia, Monday afternoon.