Joyful Sarajevans Stream Out of Capital

Hundreds of joyful residents left Sarajevo for the first time in seven months Monday under an accord that opened a road out of the besieged capital. A second route linking two Serbian suburbs was also opened.

The change didn’t mark an end to the 34-month-old Serbian siege of the city, but it did open a window of hope.

People used the opportunity to shop for cheaper and more plentiful goods in suburbs outside Sarajevo, or to visit relatives. Travel further afield, however, was impossible without extensive paperwork.

The deal--part of a truce brokered by former President Jimmy Carter--was signed Dec. 31 by the government and Bosnian Serbs but has been repeatedly held up.

“It is a sign of goodwill on both sides,” said Enrique Aguilar, a U.N. official.

One route lets Serbs move between two of their suburbs, and the other allows Sarajevans to cross the airport into two suburbs held by the Muslim-led government. The second route also leads into central Bosnia-Herzegovina and out of the country.

The two routes intersect, so Serbs and Muslims use them during alternating two-hour periods.

At nightfall, just before the roads were closed for the day, a long line of cars remained, waiting to cross. Vehicles piled with potatoes, eggs and other scarce foodstuffs returned from the other direction.

“I hope this will last,” said Dzemal Jusufbegovic, 64, who expects to cross again today. “This would make life in Sarajevo much, much better and cheaper.”

Elsewhere, Bosnia was reported quiet with the exception of the chronically troubled northwest corner.

U.N. officials said 580 shells landed around Velika Kladusa, a town at the northwest tip of Bosnia, in the 24-hour period ending Monday morning. Later they reported a noticeable drop in fighting.

Also Monday, the Clinton Administration gave its conditional approval to a three-way summit on Bosnia. But U.S. officials said the best way to settle the war still was an international peace plan rejected by the Bosnian Serbs.

The summit would be hosted by France and bring together Presidents Alija Izetbegovic of Bosnia, Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia and Franjo Tudjman of Croatia.

The Bosnian Serbs would not be permitted to attend unless they reversed their opposition to the peace plan, which is based on a map dividing Bosnia into ethnic zones, the U.S. officials said.

And Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke told National Public Radio that Washington had “closed down” discussions with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and would not resume talks until the Bosnian Serbs were ready to accept the international peace plan.