Shell Hits U.S., U.N. Sites in Bosnia; 4 Hurt

A mortar shell apparently fired by Bosnian Serbs hit U.N. headquarters here Sunday, showering shrapnel on the compound and the U.S. Embassy next door. Three peacekeepers and a Bosnian serving as an embassy guard were wounded.

Thirteen civilians were injured in other shelling around Sarajevo. City streets were deserted.

Bosnian Serb shelling, and the targeting of United Nations facilities, has increased dramatically since the Muslim-led government launched an offensive last month to lift the siege of the capital, which has gone on for more than three years.

In all, 13 civilians were killed and 88 wounded in Serb shelling over the weekend, while six people were reported killed and 16 wounded in Serb-held sections of the capital. Both tolls were only for civilians, since neither side reports military casualties.

In a sobering announcement on state television Sunday, Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic said about 10,500 civilians have died so far during the siege of Sarajevo.

The attack on the U.N. compound occurred at about noon local time. A mortar shell detonated in a tree, injuring a Canadian and two British peacekeepers and a Bosnian policeman guarding the U.S. Embassy compound.

Debris, broken branches and shattered glass were strewn around the U.N. compound and the U.S. Embassy yard. Embassy staff took shelter in the basement.

The attack may have been a response to French peacekeepers firing a 120-millimeter mortar for the first time at Serb antiaircraft guns targeting traffic on a road out of Sarajevo.

The French soldiers, responding to a direct order from French President Jacques Chirac to do more to protect peacekeepers, first fired a warning smoke shell at the Bosnian Serb forces. The French then fired two mortar rounds at the Serbian post; fire from the Serbs ceased when a round landed within 20 yards.

It was the first time U.N. forces used such force near Sarajevo since deploying heavy combat weaponry after NATO air strikes in May. Also Sunday, jets of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization were heard in Sarajevo for the first time since the May air strikes.