Croatia Tells Rebel Serbs to Cease Resistance or Face Attack

The government issued a thinly veiled ultimatum to rebel Serbs on Wednesday, saying they must abandon their resistance or face attack from 100,000 troops.

“Your time has almost expired,” said Croatian official Petar Pasic in an open letter to the residents of Knin, the rebel Serbs’ self-proclaimed capital.

Croatian government officials and rebel Serbs were scheduled to meet in Geneva today for talks. But Croatia has made it clear that it will accept nothing less than the Serbs’ agreement to submit to Croatian government rule. The Serbs, who seized one-third of Croatia in a six-month war in 1991, have vowed never to yield.

Tired of waiting for the United Nations to re-integrate the Serb-held lands, Croatia has been warning for months that it will use force if necessary to accomplish that goal.

Croatia has mobilized 100,000 soldiers for a possible attack on the rebel Serbs, who have 50,000 men ready for battle, U.N. spokesman Chris Gunness said Wednesday. Those numbers match independent estimates.

The Croatian army launched an offensive in May to retake the most vulnerable chunk of Serb-held territory, testing its new strength and signaling Serbs what else may come.

Croatia also has steadily acquired weapons, despite a U.N. arms embargo. And its troops are much better trained and organized than in 1991.

Pasic, described by the state-run Croatian news agency as the official responsible for Knin, urged Serbs to submit to Zagreb’s rule and “turn your back on [your] leaders . . . who are pushing you toward suffering and hell.”

Croatian artillery in Bosnia targeted the Serb-held border town of Strmica again Wednesday, drawing fire from the Croatian Serbs, said Col. Andrew Leslie, a U.N. official in Knin.

In addition, a NATO plane enforcing the United Nations’ “no-fly” zone over Bosnia on Wednesday ordered a Croatian Serb jet to return to its base in Croatia after it crossed into Bosnian airspace, NATO spokesman Capt. Jim Mitchell said. The plane turned back immediately, he said.