Bosnian President Asks U.N. Help
Bosnia’s president pleaded for U.N. help Tuesday against a strong Serbian offensive on the outskirts of Sarajevo that seems designed to increase pressure on Muslims to accept ethnic partitioning.
But in a move that could strain the recent alliance of Bosnian Serbs and Croats in pushing for division, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic announced plans to unite his self-proclaimed state with Serb-held regions of Croatia.
The Serbs’ attack on Mt. Igman, overlooking Sarajevo’s airport, is the fiercest in the area since the Serbian siege of the capital began in April, 1992.
Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic appealed for help in a letter to U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
“The Serb aggressor has launched a heavy offensive toward the Sarajevo ‘safe zone,’ now coming from two directions, southeast and southwest, aiming to cut up the city,” said Izetbegovic, a Muslim. “I call on you to intervene and stop this act of aggression.”
The U.N. Security Council has designated Sarajevo and five other cities as “safe areas” for Bosnian Muslims, but it has provided no troops to guard the zones.
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