Fighting Escalates in Sarajevo Area Despite Accord

A new accord on demilitarizing Sarajevo appeared to be headed nowhere Friday as the Bosnian capital shook under more heavy shelling and sniper fire.

Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic, who commands most of the heavy guns, did not even show up for talks on the agreement, apparently because of a battle southeast of the city.

The fighting in Sarajevo and towns north of the capital was some of the heaviest since a May 9 cease-fire was signed by ethnic Serbian and Muslim-led government forces.

Late Friday, Sarajevo radio said Bosnian Serb infantry backed by tanks and artillery launched an assault near Gorazde, a Muslim enclave 28 miles southeast of the capital.

More than 1,000 shells hit government positions within two hours, according to the report. It could not be independently confirmed.

The Bosnian government military commander, Gen. Sefer Halilovic, and the chief of Bosnian Croat forces, Gen. Milivoj Petkovic, signed an agreement at Sarajevo’s airport on the withdrawal of heavy weapons around the city.

But the vast majority of such guns are controlled by Mladic, who has commanded the 13-month-old siege of Sarajevo. The accord has no chance of success without his consent.

French Gen. Philippe Morillon, commander of U.N. forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina, said the documents would be forwarded to Mladic for signing, although probably not until Tuesday.