Annex VI - part 8/10
Chronology of the battle and siege of Sarajevo
- April 1992
- May 1992
- June 1992
- July 1992
- August 1992
- September 1992
- October 1992
- November 1992
- December 1992
- January 1993
- February 1993
- March 1993
- April 1993
- May 1993
- June 1993
- July 1993
- August 1993
- September 1993
- October 1993
- November 1993
- December 1993
- January 1994
- February 1994
R. September 1993
1. 1/9/93 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sarajevo and Mount Igman remained
quiet.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo and Mount Igman remained quiet. UNPROFOR was
again warned by the warring factions that imminent offensive
actions were due to take
place. *3274
(c) International reported events
Talks in Geneva among the leaders of the warring
factions collapsed after BiH representatives said that they
wanted more territory than had been offered under a proposed
peace plan. BiH President Alija Izetbegovic presented
international mediators Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg with
what he said were his «minimum of minimum» demands, giving a rump
Muslim republic an extra 4 per cent of the 30 per cent of BiH
territory offered to them. BiH was said to currently control 10
per cent of BiH. *3275
The three delegates agreed to stay in Geneva until
Thursday, but Lord Owen said he doubted an «overnight miracle»
would save the talks. *3276
Former US Secretary of State George Shultz and former
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher called for US-led
airstrikes to help BiH forces. «Western governments should act
now substantially to reduce Serbia's immediate and future power
of aggression . . . with this limited political aim, Western
power would play a much larger role», Thatcher, Shultz and
others said in an open letter to President Clinton. *3277
2. 2/9/93 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Infantry and sniper fire was
reported in Sarajevo. Serbian and BiH officials traded
accusations over who opened fire first.
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire was reported in the city.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Infantry and sniper fire was reported in Sarajevo.
Serbian and BiH officials traded accusations over who opened fire
first. *3278
(c) International reported events
US President Bill Clinton issued a stern warning to
Bosnian Serbs that a NATO response «is very much alive» if the
warring parties failed to forge a peace agreement and fighting
resumed. Clinton told reporters that the United States would do
whatever was necessary to restart stalled peace talks, which
broke down Wednesday in Geneva over how the nation would be
divided among the warring Bosnian Serbs, Muslims and Croats. «If
while talks are in abeyance, there is abuse by those who would
seek to interfere with humanitarian aid--attacking protected
areas, resuming the sustained shelling of Sarajevo, for example--
then I would remind you that the NATO military option is very
much alive», Clinton said. *3279
US Secretary of State Warren Christopher demanded
greater flexibility from Serb and Croatian leaders, saying «the
world community will certainly hold them responsible» if a
settlement for BiH broke down. *3280
A US official said that Washington backed the BiH
territorial demands for a settlement, including a wider corridor
than the one offered by Serbs to link the isolated Muslim
enclaves in Serb-held eastern BiH and a corridor linking Sarajevo
to the Adriatic Sea. *3281
British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said Western air
strikes remained a possibility if the Bosnian Serbs or Croats
attacked UN forces or resumed the bombardment of Sarajevo. *3282
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said more pressure
should be put on the Serbs to make concessions to achieve peace.
*3283
3. 3/9/93 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
(b) Local reported events
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic denied that his
side was to blame for current fighting. «I think someone is
misinforming President Clinton», Karadzic said in Belgrade. «The
Serbs are not in the war any longer. We haven't fought the Croats
for five months. We don't fight against the Muslims except for
some border incidents». *3287
The UNHCR said that Bosnian Croats had authorized
passage for UN relief convoys to reached besieged civilians in
Sarajevo and central BiH, after weeks of delay. A UN convoy
loaded with food and fuel was to head for Sarajevo on this day,
while another was headed for Zenica. *3288
Sarajevans indicated that they were apprehensive about
the collapse of peace talks but many were reported to have said
that they rejected «peace at any price». Ragib Brajlovic, a 63
year-old butcher said: «The world forced us to talk peace with
men who were ethnically cleansing, killing and raping our people.
If one of these international leaders had his wife or daughter
raped I don't think he would be so interested in talking peace».
*3289
(c) International reported events
Western leaders appealed to combatants to return to
negotiations after the failure of peace talks in Geneva and UN
officials warned that fighting could intensify. «I think the
danger of a recurrence of fighting may be more imminent», said
Cedric Thornberry, UN chief deputy of mission for the former
Yugoslavia, at a news conference in Zagreb. *3290
UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali and French Foreign
Minister Alain Juppe urged Serb, Croat and Muslim leaders to
return to the negotiating table to avoid an escalation of the
conflict. «The negotiations must resume as soon as possible. In
the meantime, the cease-fire should be observed in Bosnia and ex-
Yugoslavia», the Secretary-General said. *3291
4. 4/9/93 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR described Sarajevo and
Mount Igman as calm.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR described Sarajevo and Mount Igman as calm.
*3292
(b) Local reported events
Italian Red Cross officials said that two seriously ill
BiH children, a one month-old baby boy and an eight year-old
girl, were flown to Italy from Sarajevo for urgent medical
treatment. A German C-130 transport aeroplane, part of the United
Nations relief effort, brought them from Sarajevo to the Adriatic
base of Ancona where they were driven by ambulance to a hospital
in Rome. Deni Ajanovic, the baby boy, required surgery to correct
a severe bowel condition. His parents accompanied him on the
flight out of Sarajevo. The other child, orphan Gorana Boskovic,
needed an operation to cure a kidney ailment and also had
malformed feet which rendered her unable to walk. Italy last
month had offered 450 hospital beds to sick and wounded Bosnians
but the difficulties in evacuating people from Sarajevo meant
that only about 20 patients had arrived. *3293
One UNPROFOR and 11 UNHCR flights landed at the
airport. *3294
(c) International reported events
5. 5/9/93 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported Sarajevo and
Mount Igman as stable. Monitoring officers reported Serb shelling
toward Sarajevo while Battalions described the situation as
«rather quiet».
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- The BiH crisis centre reported that 23 people were
killed and five wounded in the 24 hours to mid-morning. *3296
Source(s): Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR reported Sarajevo and Mount Igman as stable.
Monitoring officers reported Serb shelling toward Sarajevo while
Battalions described the situation as «rather quiet». *3297
(b) Local reported events
UN officials in the city said that its population could
run out of fuel within days, as fighting between Croat and Muslim
troops blocked supply routes into Sarajevo. *3298
Two UNPROFOR and 13 UNHCR flights landed at the
airport. *3299
The vice-president of the Bosnian Serb republic, Nikola
Koljevic, was quoted as saying that the door to Geneva was still
wide open and that the Serbs were ready to resume talks. But he
also told the Serbian newspaper Dnevnik that the Bosnian Serb
parliament would meet shortly to vote on withdrawing Serb
concessions made in Geneva on access to Muslim enclaves in east
BiH. *3300
Seven Sarajevo students, with scholarships to a United
States university, were reported stranded in Sarajevo after the
United Nations rejected a request for seven seats on an outbound
aeroplane. Two of the students were Muslim, two Croat and one was
the child of a mixed marriage. The UN selection process for
evacuations had come under severe criticism in August when
several children lay near death because it would not authorize
their transport out of the city. The resulting public outcry
produced commitments for treatment for more than 1,000 war
wounded and critically ill Bosnians by other countries. The
possibility for the students to fly on a US aeroplane was dimmed
after a BiH delegation of about 20 people, ostensibly en route to
Geneva peace talks, left Sarajevo on an American flight bound for
Frankfurt. American military sources in Sarajevo said that once
the flight landed in Frankfurt, 17 of those on board made it
clear that they had no intention of going to Geneva. Some of
those involved were reportedly traveling on personal business and
at least one requested political asylum. «The transportation of
BiH nationals by the US military has been suspended for the time
being», one American officer stated. *3301
(c) International reported events
US Secretary of State Warren Christopher criticized the
planned division of BiH, but said that without an agreement
Bosnians faced the prospect of another winter of war. «This is
not an ideal settlement», Christopher said. «We regard it as
better than the alternative . . . a restarting of the war». The
Secretary of State also said that the United States was still
willing to carry out threatened air strikes on Bosnian Serb
targets if NATO determined that the strangulation of Sarajevo
continued. Asked about the division of BiH among Serbs, Croats
and Muslims discussed in Geneva last week, Christopher blamed the
Serbs for the breakdown of talks saying that they failed to take
into consideration the demands of BiH. *3302
6. 6/9/93 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- There were general reports of
sniper fire and artillery shells in the city.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire was reported in the city.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
The new school year was rung in by artillery shells and
sniper fire as thousands of children headed for makeshift
classrooms in garages, cellars and stairwells. In a city where
shelling made it dangerous for people to gather in one spot,
officials dispersed improvised classrooms as widely as possible.
«The learning environment in may of these locations is
unsuitable, but at least they are safe», one teacher said. *3303
(b) Local reported events
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic threatened to
declare an independent Serb state in BiH if the Muslim side
delayed much longer in signing the proposed peace agreement. At
a news conference at Serb headquarters in Pale, Karadzic said
that his side was prepared to wait for the international
community to persuade BiH President Alija Izetbegovic to return
to the Geneva talks. «We will wait as long as we have any hope
for a political solution», Karadzic said. «If we learn that the
Muslims are not ready for any political solution, and are using
delaying tactics, then we will demand international recognition».
When asked if the Geneva peace package calling for three ethnic
ministates in a loose Bosnian federation was a last, take-it-or-
leave-it offer, he replied, «definitely». *3304
Earlier in the day, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman
confirmed that Bosnian Croats would not give the Muslims a 12
mile strip of the Adriatic coast including the resort of Neum,
which was part of BiH in the old Yugoslav federation. Tudjman
told a news conference in Zagreb that the three ethnic ministates
envisaged in the new peace plan would be a part of a unified BiH,
so Serbs and Muslims would have as much access to Neum as Croats.
*3305
(c) International reported events
BiH Alija Izetbegovic flew to New York to meet
officials of the UN Security Council's five permanent member
countries. Sarajevo radio said that his foreign minister, Haris
Silajdzic, flew to Moscow for talks with Russian officials,
traditional allies of the Christian Orthodox state of Serbia,
Sarajevo radio said. *3306
7. 7/9/93 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Bosnian Serb positions on Mount Zuc
were reportedly shelled by government forces in the morning. It
was also reported that Serb forces shelled Zuc and the Buljakov
Potok area.
Source(s): Agence France Presse; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- BiH and Serb positions on Mount Zuc; the Buljakov
Potok area.
Source(s): Agence France Presse; Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- BiH snipers were reported along the Sarajevo
front by the Srna news agency.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Doctors at the city's French hospital reported that
one woman was killed and six people were wounded in a shelling
attack on the Buljakov Potok area of Sarajevo. *3307
Source(s):
Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA reported that a Bosnian
Serb army commander accused Muslim forces of launching an
artillery attack on Serb positions on Mount Zuc. The commander
also said that Muslim snipers were active along the Sarajevo
front. Two shells were fired at around 8.45 a.m. at Mount Zuc
followed by heavy artillery fire, SRNA reported, citing the Serb
military press service. SRNA added that Serb forces did not
respond. However, the Serb army commander, whom the agency did
not name, warned on Monday that he had been «forced» to riposte
«with all our might by all means» to any attack on Serb positions
as from 6 September at 7:00 a.m.. «Ten Serb soldiers and several
civilians have died on the Sarajevo front since a cease-fire
agreement was signed on 30 July, which proves that Muslim forces
are constantly violating the truce», the commander said. *3308
United Nations military observers on Mount Igman
reported BiH army and Bosnian Serb troops preparing for a
«possible» resumption of fighting on the strategic heights above
Sarajevo. Major Idesbald van Biesenbroeck, a UN press officer,
said movements (involving 1,000 men on either side), were
observed Monday night and early Tuesday afternoon inside the
respective areas of the two parties. van Biesebroeck said that
there was no shooting but that troops were «busy putting
themselves into position». He said that it was not clear exactly
what was happening, as the movements were taking place at night,
nor which side started troop movements first. But he added that
UNPROFOR was «afraid something is growing». He said that UNPROFOR
officials had the impression that the two parties were «scared of
each other». van Biesenbroeck stressed that while troop movements
had been observed in the area in the past, it was the first time
since a 13 August agreement on the withdrawal of Serb forces that
such maneuvers had been so obvious. He said that apart from
Serbs shelling Zuc hill Tuesday, there were no significant
changes. But he warned that the situation in the city was «more
tense» than in previous days. *3309
Doctors at the city's French hospital reported that one
woman was killed and six people were wounded in a shelling attack
on the Buljakov Potok area of Sarajevo. *3310
8. 8/9/93 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The situation on Mount Igman was
reported to have eased, as Serb forces shelled BiH army positions
in northern and north-western Sarajevo. UNPROFOR reported that an
exchange of small-arms and machine-gun fire took place around the
airport settlement in the evening.
Source(s): Agence France
Presse; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- BiH army positions in northern and north-western
Sarajevo.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- A 14 year-old boy was reportedly killed by
sniper fire.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- A 14 year-old boy was killed by sniper fire, eight
people were wounded by mortar shell fragments. *3311
Source(s):
Agence France Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
BiH and Bosnian Serb troops strengthened their
positions on Mount Igman, but fears of renewed fighting on the
strategic height receded, UNPROFOR spokesman Idesbald van
Biesenbroeck said. Both sides had reinforced their positions
earlier in the day within the boundaries set last month under a
UN-brokered truce for the sector, but calm returned later in the
day after a tense 48 hours, van Biesenbroeck said. The tension
flared after Serb forces monitored and interpreted BiH troop
movement as the prelude to an offensive manoeuvre. The Serbs
embarked on their own manoeuvres, but calm returned after it
became clear the BiH army were only rotating their troops, the
spokesman said. Each side had about 20,000 men on Igman and the
surrounding area, van Biesenbroeck added. *3312
UNPROFOR reported that an exchange of small-arms and
machine-gun fire took place around the airport settlement in the
evening. *3313
Serb troops shelled BiH army positions in northern and
north-western Sarajevo, Sarajevo radio said. A 14 year-old boy
was killed by sniper fire, eight people were wounded by mortar
shell fragments. *3314
(b) Local reported events
The BiH government urged UNPROFOR to take control of
utilities in Sarajevo and the distribution of gas, water, and
electricity, warning that winter would be especially harsh for
the city's inhabitants. The plea came in a letter sent to UN
Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali, UN High Commissioner for
Refugees Sadako Ogata, US President Bill Clinton, Russian
President Boris Yeltsin and the UNPROFOR command. *3315
(c) International reported events
A source close to the Belgian Defence Ministry said
that 185 Belgian soldiers were to leave for BiH in the coming
days. The source said that the company of engineer corps troops
would join 915 compatriots already stationed in the former
Yugoslavia as part of the UNPROFOR contingent. Last month,
Belgian Defence Minister Leo Delcroix agreed in principle to send
reinforcements following a UN request. The engineer corps troops
would be accompanied by bomb disposal experts responsible for
maintaining roads to ensure access for winter aid convoys inside
BiH. *3316
9. 9/9/93 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Vogosca in the north of the city
and Zuc hill were shelled during the day but otherwise, most
fronts were reported as quiet. UNPROFOR described Igman as quiet.
Source(s): UNPROFOR; Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- Northern suburbs of the city; Vogosca; Zuc hill.
Source(s): Agence France Presse; Chicago Tribune.
- Description of Damage :
- A power line was damaged on Zuc hill.
Source(s): Agence France Presse; Chicago Tribune.
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire was reported in downtown areas of
the city.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Sarajevo radio reported four dead and 25 wounded in
Sarajevo. *3317 One French soldier was wounded by a mine while on
patrol. *3318
Source(s): Chicago Tribune; ICFY,
- Narrative of Events :
-
Bosnian Serb gunners shelled northern suburbs of
Sarajevo but the city was reported as otherwise quiet, although
sniper fire was reported in downtown areas. Vogosca in the north
of the city and Zuc hill were shelled during the day but
otherwise, Sarajevo radio reported that most fronts were quiet.
UNPROFOR described Igman as quiet. *3319
The only power line feeding the city was damaged in an
overnight firefight between Serbian and BiH forces on Zuc hill.
*3320
(b) Local reported events
Despite fighting in central and southern BiH, the
UNPROFOR commander in the former Yugoslavia, General Cot, said in
Zagreb that a 31 July cease-fire agreement was being «more or
less respected» in the Sarajevo region. He also tried to settle
confusion over reports of recent BiH government and Serb troop
movements on Mount Igman. An UNPROFOR press officer in Sarajevo,
Idesbald van Biesenbroeck, said Wednesday that UN military
observers had reported Muslim and Serb troops preparing for a
possible resumption in fighting on the mountain, which was put
under UN control last month after falling to Serbian units. But
Cot said that the reports were wrong. «The situation was very
calm on Mount Igman and all (other) information which people were
trying to spread was false», he said. *3321
French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy and writer Gilles
Herzog arrived in Sarajevo to spend a week with intellectuals in
the city. They were scheduled to meet with President Izetbegovic
upon his return from visits to Turkey and the United States.
*3322
(c) International reported events
10. 10/9/93 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Not specified
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
No reported incidents.
11. 11/9/93 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
(c) International reported events
US Ambassador Viktor Jakovic told Serb leader Radovan
Karadzic that Washington expected more flexibility from the Serbs
in the peace talks in Geneva, BiH radio reported. «We no longer
believe words. The US wants to see an improvement in the
situation and not to listen to promises», Jakovic
said. *3330 Karadzic told Reuters Television that he had been
encouraged by his meeting with Jakovic. «I got some messages from
the State Department that are very encouraging, since the
Department is encouraging the Geneva process for the resolution
of the crisis in BiH», he said. *3331
Diplomats said that EC peace mediator Lord Owen told
European Community foreign ministers in Belgium that he hoped a
deal on BiH could be signed by the end of September. But, at a
news conference later, Owen was far more cautious and declined to
forecast a timetable for a settlement. *3332
12. 12/9/93 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Not specified
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
No reported incidents.
13. 13/9/93 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported that Sarajevo
remained quiet with the exception of the area around the UkrBat,
where some small-arms fire and mortar shelling was reported.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- The BiH Public Health Ministry reported 15 killed and
102 wounded in the last week. It also reported a cumulative total
of 9,313 killed (of which 1,501 were children), and 54,656
wounded (of which 14,246 were children). *3333
Source(s): BiH
Ministry of Public Health.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR reported that Sarajevo remained quiet with the
exception of the area around the UkrBat, where some small-arms
fire and mortar shelling was reported. *3334
14. 14/9/93 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- There was sporadic automatic
weapons fire in the city around midday in northern districts and
small arms fire in the city centre. In the evening, the Old Town
area and the north-west area of the city were pounded by
shellfire. Shelling was also reported on BiH positions on Mount
Igman.
Source(s): Agence France Presse; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- The Old Town area of the city; the north-west area
of the city; BiH government positions on Mount Igman (two
shells).
Source(s): Agence France Presse; UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported sniping activity in the city.
*3335
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Early in the day, two people had been hospitalized in
Sarajevo's main hospitals, one for a machine-gun fire wound, and
the other having stepped on a mine.
Source(s): Agence France
Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
There was sporadic automatic weapons fire in Sarajevo
around midday in northern districts, and some small arms fire in
the city centre. *3336
UNPROFOR initially described the area as stable.
However, Bosnian Serb artillery in the evening pounded the Old
Town section, prompting a general alert in the area, Sarajevo
radio reported quoting BiH military officials. The radio added
that Serb forces shelled the north-west area of the city.
Correspondents noted a slight increase in firing in the city
compared to previous days. The radio also said that two shells
had been forced at BiH government positions in the Mount Igman
area. *3337
Witnesses later said that shelling in the city appeared
to have been directed at heights on the outskirts of the Old Town
where the front line was located, rather than at residential
areas. *3338
The main Sarajevo hospitals said that they had received
no new admissions following the evening shelling. Hospital
officials said that earlier in the day, two people had been
hospitalized, one injured by machine-gun fire, the other having
stepped on a mine. *3339
(b) Local reported events
UN officials said that robbery, hijacking and
intimidation of relief workers were so widespread that the United
Nations might turn over delivery of humanitarian aid to its armed
forces. «The militarization of our operation may become
inevitable», said Phillippos Papaphilippou, head of the Zenica
office of UNHCR, the main relief agency in BiH. *3340
(c) International reported events
In Geneva, Presidents Alija Izetbegovic of BiH and
Franjo Tudjman of Croatia, in a step toward a possible BiH peace
accord, announced agreement on an immediate cease-fire between
Muslim and Croat forces in BiH. Diplomats said the accord could
clear the way for early resumption of overall negotiations on a
peace plan creating a new Bosnian «union» of three ethnic
republics. But they cautioned that an earlier wide-ranging
agreement in May quickly collapsed and was followed by some of
the bloodiest fighting in the conflict. «I think we have to wait
and see before getting too excited», one diplomat said.
Izetbegovic and Tudjman agreed also to close all prison camps and
reopen roads for humanitarian convoys. *3341
15. 15/9/93 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Bosnian Serb forces reportedly
fired several howitzer rounds during the afternoon in the north-
west part of the city while small arms fire was reported along
BiH lines. Intermittent artillery and small arms fire was
reported in the evening.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- The north-west area of the city (afternoon).
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo radio reported that Bosnian Serb forces fired
several howitzer rounds during the afternoon into the north-west
of the city, while there was small arms fire along BiH government
lines. Intermittent firing of artillery and small arms fire could
be heard in the city during the evening. *3342
16. 16/9/93 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The downtown area was shelled
during the lunchtime and sniper fire was reported in the city.
Zuc hill was reportedly shelled by Bosnian Serb forces in the
evening.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- The downtown area; Zuc hill (evening).
Source(s):
Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- A two year-old boy was killed and his
mother, sister and an unidentified man were wounded when a shell
hit the downtown area during the lunchtime.
Source(s): Agence
France Presse.
- Sniping Activity :
- One man was killed and five others were
reported wounded in the city, mostly by sniper fire.
Source(s):
Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- One child was killed and three people wounded when a
shell hit the downtown area at lunchtime; one man was killed and
five others wounded, mostly by sniper fire.
Source(s): Agence
France Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
A two year-old boy was killed and his mother, younger
sister, and a man were wounded when a shell struck the downtown
area during the lunchtime, hospital officials said. Another man
was shot dead by a sniper and five more people were injured,
mostly by sniper fire. *3343
UNPROFOR spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bill Aikman
stated that a much lower level of confrontation between Muslims
and Serbs appeared to have been maintained since fighting around
Sarajevo died down at the end of August. He said that there had
been no notable clashes between government and Serb forces, save
for «significant shelling of Zuc (hill) by the Serb side» on the
outskirts of the city in the evening. *3344
(b) Local reported events
UNPROFOR spokesman Major Idesbald van Biesenbroeck said
that a military accord, confirming the political truce agreement
concluded earlier in the week in Geneva, was signed by Rasim
Delic, for the government forces, and General Milivoj Petkovic,
for the Croat forces. The cease-fire signing followed several
hours of talks between Delic, Petkovic and the commander of
UNPROFOR in BiH, General Francis Briquemont, at Sarajevo airport.
The earlier cease-fire deal was concluded by BiH President Alija
Izetbegovic and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. This was the
first time a representative of the Bosnian Croat forces fighting
in the field acknowledged the earlier accord. van Biesenbroeck
said the deal also allowed for freedom of movement for all
humanitarian convoys as of Saturday midday, followed at a later
stage by the release of all prisoners and the disbandment of
prison camps. The military also discussed the implementation of
the cease-fire which was due to come into force Saturday at noon.
*3345
A separate cease-fire agreement was also signed by the
leader of the Bosnian Serb assembly, Momcilo Krajisnik. *3346
UNPROFOR Lieutenant General Francis Briquemont said he
hoped for a signed peace accord but cautioned that the current
8,000-strong UN force deployed in Sarajevo and in central BiH
would need to be expanded by 15,000 to ensure a durable cease-
fire. «For the future, we would need 4,000 to 5,000 more for
Sarajevo», he said. According to reports, Sarajevo had 3,000 UN
troops. *3347
(c) International reported events
In Skopje, Macedonia, international mediator David Owen
said he expected the leaders of the three warring factions to
sign a peace agreement when they met in Sarajevo. «I expect the
agreement will be signed on Tuesday», he told reporters after
meeting Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov. «It will be a very
difficult agreement, but it must be signed». *3348
17. 17/9/93 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR described Sarajevo as
stable with some artillery and mortar shelling on Zuc and
Zlatiste. There were reportedly many BiH attempts of infiltration
on Igman during the evening of 16-17 September.
Source(s):
UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR described Sarajevo as stable with some
artillery and mortar shelling on Zuc and Zlatiste. There were
reportedly many BiH attempts of infiltration on Igman during the
evening of 16-17 September. *3349
18. 18/9/93 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The morning passed in the city with
occasional firing. Areas to the north-west and south-west were
also shelled. UNPROFOR described Sarajevo and Mount Igman as
stable.
Source(s): Agence France Presse; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- City hospitals said that two people were
wounded by snipers after the ceasfire, one of them seriously.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Two people were wounded by sniper fire (one
seriously); one child was wounded by shrapnel.
Source(s): Agence
France Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
The morning passed in the city with occasional firing
and an early high-altitude overflight by NATO jet fighters
patrolling the air exclusion zone. As in previous days, people
were out on the streets attending to their daily chores in the
warm sunlight. *3350 UNPROFOR described Sarajevo and Mount Igman
as stable. *3351
One child was reported wounded by shrapnel. There was
«provocative small arms fire» and areas to the south-west and
north-west were also shelled, Sarajevo radio said. *3352
(b) Local reported events
BiH President Izetbegovic stated that he could not hold
his country together by force, but added that Serbs and Croats
must hand over more territory in exchange for peace. In an
interview on Sarajevo radio, the President insisted that he would
not sign a peace package on Tuesday if Serbs and Croats did not
agree to his demands for more territory made earlier this month
in Geneva. Izetbegovic and leaders of the Bosnian Croats and
Serbs were due to meet at Sarajevo airport for what had been
billed as a possible peace breakthrough. «Attempts to preserve
Bosnia by force would lead to constant conflict . . . As a member
of the Moslem nation, I don't want my nation to experience one
more genocide which would probably happen if we tried to keep
people together by force», he said. He defended the idea of a
nationwide referendum, to be held once peace had taken hold, by
saying this would solve the problem of whether «one nation wanted
to break away from the others». Izetbegovic earlier in the week
signed an agreement with Bosnian Serbs in Geneva agreeing to the
referendum idea which would allow the individual ethnically-
defined states eventually to break away completely and join up
with the neighbouring Serbian and Croatian states. *3353
In Split, Lord David Owen said that the peace accord
might not be signed at the scheduled meeting Tuesday at the
Sarajevo airport between the three warring factions, Radio Zagreb
said. Owen, speaking after talks with Croatian President Franjo
Tudjman and Bosnian Croat leader Mate Boban, said he did not plan
to go to the meeting unless he was certain that an overall
agreement would be signed, the radio said. Owen said that
President Izetbegovic was demanding a land corridor to the sea
before he would sign, a demand Boban described as irrational.
Owen's co-mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg, who was also present at
the Split talks, remained optimistic, saying that he felt there
was still reason to hope the accord would be signed Tuesday.
*3354
The co-chairmen of the UN-sponsored Geneva talks on the
former Yugoslavia, David Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg visited
the coastal towns of Ploce and Neum where they looked at
possibilities for the establishment of a Muslim exit to the sea,
one of the conditions for the signing of the plan to divide the
republic into three mini-states, linked by a loose central
government. *3355
Fighting gradually died down throughout BiH in the
afternoon in the wake of a general cease-fire, but isolated
shooting incidents were continuing, UNPROFOR spokesmen said.
*3356
When asked how many cease-fires had been called since
the beginning of the war 18 months ago, BiH army deputy commander
Stjepan Siber said he had lost count. «I've lost track. Everyone
stopped taking them seriously», he said. *3357
19. 19/9/93 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR described the city as
quiet. However, some shelling was reported in the Old Town and in
the Zuc area. In the evening, Serb gunners reportedly shelled an
unidentified building housing war refugees.
Source(s): UNPROFOR;
Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- The Old Town; the Zuc area; an unidentified building
housing war refugees.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Serb gunners pounded a building housing
war refugees in the evening, starting a huge fire which forced
the occupants to flee.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported sniper activity in the city.
*3358
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR described the city as quiet. However, some
shelling was reported in the Old Town and in the Zuc area. *3359
Witnesses said that Serb gunners pounded a building
housing war refugees in the evening, starting a huge fire which
forced the occupants to flee. The Serb units on a hillside 500
yards above the Miljacka River fired incendiary bullets at the
building in a 15 minute barrage. Firefighters evacuated 10
refugee families and no serious injuries were reported. *3360
(b) Local reported events
Heavy artillery exchanges between BiH troops and
Croatian forces persisted despite a shaky, one-day old cease-
fire, casting doubts that an agreement might be signed in
negotiations scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Fighting raged
between Bosnian Croat and government forces in central BiH
despite the cease-fire. *3361
20. 20/9/93 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The city was reported quiet after
Sunday's attack on a refugee building.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
The city was reported quiet after Sunday's attack on a
refugee
building. *3362
(b) Local reported events
Mediators called off Tuesday's meeting in which they
had hoped that ethnic leader's would sign an accord to end the
bloodshed in the region. «There won't be a meeting in Sarajevo
tomorrow (Tuesday) because all sides have not shown sufficient
flexibility», John Mills, spokesman for mediators Lord Owen and
Thorvald Stoltenberg said. The mediators, seeking to overcome the
last obstacles to their peace deal, held talks with
representatives of the Croat, Serb and Muslim factions on the
British aircraft carrier Invincible in the Adriatic sea. Those
attending included Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, Bosnian
Croat leader Mate Boban, BiH President, Alija Izetbegovic and
Presidents Milosevic of Serbia, Franjo Tudjman of Croatia and
Momir Bulatovic of Montenegro. Mills said the decision to call
off Tuesday's meeting was disappointing, but he added: «Progress
has been made . . . The settlement is possible». Mills said that
the mediators had received a report from a French-German
technical team that had looked at the issue of the Croat-held
ports of Neum and Ploce. The report concluded that Neum, the only
coastal town in BiH, was not feasible for use as a commercial
port. But Mills said: «President Izetbegovic continues to want
access to Neum not necessarily for a port, but for its
psychological value . . . He even says that himself». Tudjman
said the talks were difficult because of Izetbegovic's insistence
on laying claim on Neum. «Muslims are persistently asking for
Neum and the Croat side cannot accept that», he said. *3363
21. 21/9/93 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sniper fire was reported in the
city with small arms fire on the outskirts, in the Zuc hill area.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire was reported in the city.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- The BiH Health Ministry reported 14 killed and 77
wounded in the last week. It also reported a cumulative total of
9,327 killed (of which 1,503 were children), and 54,733 wounded
(of which 14,261 were children). *3364
Source(s): BiH Ministry of
Public Health.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sniping in Sarajevo and some firing on the outskirts,
in the Zuc hill area was reported by UNPROFOR. *3365
(b) Local reported events
BiH Deputy Foreign Minister Sulejman Suljic said that
the three leaders meeting with international mediators Lord Owen
and Thorvald Stoltenberg Monday had reached agreement on a
corridor to the sea for BiH. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman,
who was also at the meeting on the warship, blamed the breakdown
of Monday's talks on what he called tough talks on demands by
Izetbegovic for a land corridor linking the proposed Muslim mini-
state to the Adriatic coast. But Suljic said Tuesday:
«Territorial concessions were obtained last night to the east and
the west». Following the meeting, Lord Owen said he thought it
«pretty accurate» to say that an agreement was closer now than at
any time in the past. He said that BiH demands for access to the
sea had been met by a Croatian proposal to create free zones,
notably at Ploce. The mediator also said the Bosnian Serbs had
made «small but significant» concessions on the river Drina in
eastern BiH along the border with Serbia. Owen, speaking in a
BBC radio interview from Zagreb, rejected reports that the talks
had ended in failure. «The talks didn't break up or break down»,
he said. «They ended with a package of modifications and changes
which (BiH) President Izetbegovic decided that he would put to
his assembly in Sarajevo Monday». *3366 «I just hope and
literally pray that they decide to accept it and we can bring
this bloody ghastly war to an end», Owen said. «Nobody believes
it's the ideal, but it's time for peace». *3367
22. 22/9/93 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The city and Mount Igman were
described as quiet with occasional sniper fire and some firing on
Zuc Hill.
Source(s): UNPROFOR; Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc Hill.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Occasional sniper fire was reported in the
city.
Source(s): UNPROFOR; Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo and Mount Igman were described as fairly
quiet, with occasional sniping in town and some firing on Zuc
Hill nearby. *3368
It was reported that in the evening, UNPROFOR was
called in to defuse tension between Interior Ministry special
forces and HVO troops following an armed stand-off between the
two near the front lines. *3369
(b) Local reported events
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said that he had
gained access to the Adriatic sea by swapping territory with
Croatia. Karadzic said that Bosnian Serbs would have access to
the Adriatic sea near the Montenegrin border with BiH in exchange
for Serb-held territories around the Croatian Adriatic port of
Dubrovnik, according Tanjug, the state-run Yugoslav news agency.
He said that access to the Drina River had been given to the
Muslims as one of the Serb concessions, but that the major
sticking points in the talks were territorial disputes between
the Muslims and Croats over the division of central BiH. «There
are indications that the Muslim side will accept it (peace
accord)», said Karadzic, confirming that he thought the Geneva
partition plan might be signed by BiH, reported Tanjug. But
Karadzic warned that he would retreat to his former hard-line
stance should any new attempts for further concessions be
presented. *3370
It was reported that representatives of the three
warring factions were expected to return to the negotiating table
in Geneva next week should the BiH parliament accept the
aeroplane negotiated aboard the British warship. *3371
An UNPROFOR spokesman suggested that following Monday's
peace talks and the announcement that the BiH parliament would be
summoned next week to discuss the latest peace proposals, the
belligerents «still expect to have some kind of peace, that is
the reason things are so quiet». *3372
It was reported that before the start of the war in
April 1992, Sarajevo's 435,000 population was 50 per cent Muslim,
25 per cent Serb and 7.5 per cent Croat. It was now estimated
that there were now 40,000 Serbs in the city. *3373
23. 23/9/93 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- After an exchange of sniper fire,
Serb forces reportedly fired 50 tank and 24 mortar rounds and
anti-aircraft fire in the Skenderija quarter. Shelling was also
reported in the area near the Presidency.
Source(s): Agence
France Presse; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Skenderija quarter; the area near the Presidency.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire was reported between the BiH and
Serbian sides.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- One French UNPROFOR soldier seriously wounded. Area
hospitals reported eight people wounded for the day. *3374
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR initially described the city as quiet, but at
the end of the afternoon firing and shelling increased in the
area of the Presidency. Serbs forces were reported to have fired
with tanks from Grbavica towards the
east. *3375
A French UNPROFOR soldier was shot and badly wounded
in the afternoon at the start of a firefight between government
and Serb forces in the Skenderija quarter. The firefight appeared
to have been kicked off by an exchange of sniper fire between the
two sides, followed by the Serbs' firing of 50 tank and 24 mortar
rounds, along with anti-aircraft weapons. There was no immediate
word of any BiH casualties. *3376
24. 24/9/93 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Renewed shelling was reported in
the morning with sniper fire near the Presidency building.
UNPROFOR described the general situation in the city as quiet,
but noted an instability between HVO and BiH forces in the city.
Source(s): Agence France Presse; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire was reported near the Presidency
building.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Renewed shelling was reported in the morning, with
sniper fire near the Presidency building. *3377 UNPROFOR
described the general situation in the city as quiet, but noted
an instability between HVO and BiH forces in the city. *3378
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
25. 25/9/93 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Overnight shelling was reported
along confrontation lines. UNPROFOR reported the city as
relatively quiet with some artillery and mortar shelling and
small-arms fire. A total of 23 outgoing shells were observed from
Serbian positions and zero shells were observed from the BiH
side.
Source(s): Agence France Presse; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire was reported around the city. A
sniper fired at least one round at a Danish armoured personnel
carrier.
Source(s): Agence France Presse; UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
There was again overnight shelling along confrontation
lines and sniper activity around the city. *3381
UNPROFOR described the city as relatively quiet with
some artillery and mortar shelling and small-arms fire. A total
of 23 outgoing shells were observed from Serbian positions, zero
from BiH positions. A sniper fired at least one round at a Danish
armoured personnel carrier on the daily Sarajevo-Kiseljak shuttle
convoy. All three convoy vehicles opened up fire towards the
building from which the sniper-fire originated. About 80 heavy
machine-gun rounds were used and the sniper did not return fire.
*3382
(b) Local reported events
Croat HVO forces who had been fighting alongside BiH
forces against the besieging Serbs expressed concerns for their
own safety. The Bosnian army on Friday had ordered the HVO
forces, which were responsible for the defence of a two-kilometre
long front, to stand down, disarm and retire to barracks. The
order was later rescinded following a meeting between BiH
President Alija Izetbegovic and HVO local commander Slavko Zelic.
But Zelic later said that they he expected more trouble in the
days to come. «They (the Muslims) want to eliminate the HVO from
Sarajevo», he stated earlier. *3383
HVO forces in Sarajevo had helped the BiH government
army defend the city in the 17 month siege. The HVO units served
in front-line positions, particularly along a stretch of the
Miljacka River which faced the Serbian-held districts of
Kovacici, Grbavica and Hrasno. But relations between Muslim and
Croat forces had grown tense in the city as the former allies
fought for land in central BiH and the southern city of Mostar.
*3384 Word had also gone out around town that Serbian gunners
held their fire along sections of the front defended by the HVO
and men returning from the HVO units at the front had described
how they traded cigarettes and food across the Miljacka River
with Serbian forces. *3385
The United Nations said that it had received reports
that hundreds of Muslim men had been rounded up around Croat-held
Kiseljak near Sarajevo and sent to dig trenches near the front
lines. *3386
Sarajevo was reported to be without electricity due to
mechanical problems at the Kakanj electrical power plant, UN
sources said. *3387
26. 26/9/93 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported that situation in
the city remained quiet. Sniper activity was reported as having
increased.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported an increase in sniper
activity. One French UNPROFOR soldier was wounded by sniper fire.
Source(s): UNPROFOR; Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- One French UNPROFOR soldier was wounded by a sniper
bullet. It was reported that the current number of UN troops
wounded in the former Yugoslavia was 629 and the total number
killed was 58. *3388
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR reported that situation in the city remained
quiet. Sniper activity was reported as having increased. *3389 It
was reported that a French UNPROFOR soldier was seriously injured
when he was struck by a sniper
bullet. *3390
27. 27/9/93 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sporadic shelling, machine-gun and
sniper fire were reported overnight. The city was reported
quieter in the morning. UNPROFOR described the general situation
in Sarajevo as stable with Serb artillery and mortar attacks.
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire on UN personnel was reported near
the Holiday Inn Hotel.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- The BiH Health Ministry reported 11 killed and 59
wounded in the last week. It also reported a cumulative total of
9,338 killed (of which 1,505 were children) and 54,792 wounded
(of which 14,270 were children). *3391
Source(s): BiH Health
Ministry.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sporadic shelling, machine-gun and sniper fire could be
heard overnight. The city was reported quieter in the morning.
*3392
UNPROFOR described the general situation in Sarajevo as
stable with Serb artillery and mortar attacks. A French soldier
was wounded after he accidently shot himself while climbing into
a vehicle. In two separate incidents near the Holiday Inn Hotel,
two UN Civilian Police personnel and the Sector Sarajevo
Commander and his Deputy Commander, were exposed to sniper fire.
No casualties were reported. *3393
(b) Local reported events
BiH President Alija Izetbegovic told a meeting of 352
BiH intellectuals and religious leaders in Sarajevo that the
decision on whether to accept or reject the latest peace plan was
a decision «between a just war and an unjust peace». The
Sarajevo meeting was scheduled to be followed Tuesday by a
session of parliament to vote on whether to approve the Geneva
peace plan carving BiH into three ethnic republics. Izetbegovic
stressed his main objection to the deal--that the Serbs had
refused to hand back territory which he believed was rightfully
Bosnian. His reasons to accept the deal included the weakening of
BiH, that siege warfare was forcing the BiH army onto the
defensive and the world was unlikely to intervene militarily or
to lift the arms embargo. Similarly, having to fight the Croats
as well as the Serbs meant that the number of refugees was
rising, winter was approaching and there had been warnings that
aid would be cut off if more aid workers were harmed. The world
was also in danger of turning its attention to the crisis in
Russia at the expense of BiH, the president said. *3394
The Rome-based World Food Program said that critical
food shortages could occur at the height of winter because donors
had pledged very little food for January onward. *3395
28. 28/9/93 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported the situation in
Sarajevo as calm. Fighting was reported near the suburb of
Kiseljak, where BiH forces shelled civilian and military targets.
In addition to sporadic shelling, there was a high level of
sniper activity reported in Sarajevo.
Source(s): United Press
International; Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- The area near Kiseljak; the area near Jablanica.
Source(s): United Press International; Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Shell fire near Jablanica damaged a power-
line supplying the Sarajevo area with electricity from the
Neretva hydro-electric power system.
Source(s): United Press
International; Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- A «significant level» of sniper fire was
reported in the city.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR reported the situation in Sarajevo as calm.
*3396
Fighting was reported near the suburb of Kiseljak,
where BiH government forces shelled civilian and military
targets, Zagreb radio said. *3397
In addition to sporadic shelling in Sarajevo itself,
there was «sniper fire to a very significant level» throughout
the day, according to a UN source. *3398
Shelling near BiH-held Jablanica damaged a power line
supplying the Sarajevo area with electricity from the Neretva
hydro-electric power system. An electricity board statement,
quoted by BiH radio said that Sarajevo would receive small
supplies of electricity for basic humanitarian needs until the
power line was repaired. *3399 Sarajevo was also reportedly left
without water after the shelling incident. *3400
(b) Local reported events
After hours of open debate, the BiH parliament met in
closed session for about an hour and adjourned. Political parties
planned to meet on Wednesday morning for final consultations in
advance of the vote on the peace plan, according to a BiH
information ministry official. Earlier in the day, a meeting of
influential BiH intellectuals gave conditional approval to the
peace plan, advising the parliament to agree to the plan only if
«territories seized by force» were returned. But the BiH cabinet,
which had kept in the background for most of the 18 month
conflict, voted to accept the plan without conditions. Haris
Silajdzic, BiH foreign minister and a member of the BiH
delegation to the peace talks, was believed to have played an
influential role in the cabinet, according to analysts in
Sarajevo. Sources close to the 18 member cabinet said that the 14
members present had asked only for international guarantees from
NATO and the United Nations for the implementation of the plan.
The cabinet met President Alija Izetbegovic to discuss the
parliamentary session, and it was believed that the cabinet's
opinion could serve as a pointer to the parliamentary vote. *3401
BiH forces cut off by Serb forces in the Bihac enclave
in north-western BiH rejected the proposed peace plan and
declared themselves an autonomous province, Croatian television
and radio said. A 400-member constituent assembly of the enclave
met in the town of Velika Kladusa and voted to form an
«Autonomous Province of Western BiH», naming Izetbegovic rival
Fikret Abdic as president of the new entity. The television
quoted Abdic as calling the vote a rejection of BiH dismemberment
into Serb, Croat and Muslim mini-states as agreed by Izetbegovic
at peace talks. «Instead of a unified state Bosnian citizens got
three national republics. Muslims, the real victims, were made
into just one of those three sides. Muslims of `Western Bosnia'
cannot forget this historic disgrace», he told the Bihac
assembly. The BiH constitutional court called the proclamation
from the Bihac pocket unconstitutional, Sarajevo radio said.
*3402
Izetbegovic also called unconstitutional the
«Autonomous Region of Western Bosnia», Tanjug reported.
Izetbegovic ordered the imposition of martial law in the Bihac
area, 140 miles (220 km) north-west of Sarajevo, Zagreb radio
reported. Zagreb radio said that many people were in the streets
protesting against Izetbegovic's imposed rule. «The
implementation of military dictatorship had caused great
bitterness among the population», the radio said. *3403
Abdic fell out with Izetbegovic during peace talks in
Geneva because of the president's reluctance to negotiate with
Serb foes on a swift end to fighting in the region. *3404 The
BiH parliament voted by 61 to one with seven abstentions to
dismiss Abdic from the BiH collective Presidency. A replacement
had not yet been named but needed to be found within 10
days. *3405
29. 29/9/93 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Four to five mortar shells hit
downtown Sarajevo in the afternoon just minutes after the radio
had announced rejection by parliament of the latest peace terms.
There was also artillery fire reported on Igman road near the
airport.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- Downtown Sarajevo (four to five mortar shells);
Igman road (near the airport).
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Two people were killed and six were wounded by
sniper fire while trying to cross the airport frontline
overnight.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Two people were killed and six others wounded
overnight while trying to cross the Sarajevo frontline at the
airport; three people were wounded (a man, woman and an eight
year-old boy), as a result of the afternoon shelling of downtown
Sarajevo.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Two people were killed and six wounded overnight when
several hundred civilians tried to cross the Sarajevo frontline
under cover of darkness, a UN military official said. Lieutenant
Colonel Bill Aikman, spokesman for UNPROFOR, said that the
attempted crossings at the airport, both in and out of Sarajevo,
were a regular nightly occurrence with civilians running a
gauntlet of snipers to cross the tarmac in a bid to leave the
city or to bring in goods from the outside. The airport, located
on one of the frontlines between BiH and Serb forces, was
controlled by UN French troops who were supposed to prevent any
crossings in what was declared a neutral zone. *3406
Four to five mortar shells hit downtown Sarajevo in the
afternoon just minutes after the radio had announced rejection by
parliament of the latest peace terms. Hospital officials said
that three people (a man, woman, and an eight year-old boy), were
slightly wounded. This was reported to be the first mortaring by
Bosnian Serbs of the old centre of the city in several
weeks. *3407 It was reported that in the days preceding the
parliament's vote, Serbian commanders warned that they would
respond to a rejection of the plan by «flattening» Sarajevo and
by renewing offensives elsewhere. *3408
Sarajevo radio reported that there was artillery fire
on Igman road, a BiH-held area near the airport. *3409
(b) Local reported events
The BiH Parliament voted by a wide majority to reject
the Geneva peace plan as it stood. Senior BiH officials gave
contradictory accounts of the voting by the assembly, but
discrepancies were small, with Sarajevo radio quoting figures
given by Vice President Ejup Ganic. Ganic said that 69 deputies
took part in the afternoon's vote. Four voted for acceptance of
the peace plan as it stood, seven voted against, and 58 voted to
accept the plan only if a number of conditions were met,
including return by the Serbs of more Muslim-dominated
territories. The parliament originally consisted of 240 deputies,
but many of its Serb and Croat members no longer attended and
others had been killed. The parliamentary vote, the country's
official response to the Geneva peace package, was on the same
lines as that of a consultative assembly which was attended by
most of the top leaders in BiH. Vice President Ganic told
reporters that the parliamentary vote aimed to get peace talks
going again «in a positive direction» and win the «return of land
taken by force». *3410
«I think that all of us need peace and what we expect
is a minimum compromise to reach a solution», parliamentary
president Miro Lazovic told a news conference. «Time is working
for us», said Muhamed Filipovic, a leading opposition figure,
adding that the Bosnian Serbs would eventually agree to further
negotiations because of pressure on them from Belgrade which was
anxious to have international sanctions against it lifted.
Lazovic said that deputies had reaffirmed their commitment to UN
Security Council resolutions on BiH and to the conclusions of the
London Conference on Yugoslavia of August of last year which had
pledged no international acceptance of any territories seized by
force. Commentators suggested that the parliament's anger at
world pressure in favour of a peace deal, fear that a fragmented
Muslim state might have no future, and hope that further
concessions could be gained in a piecemeal way, appeared to have
convinced the parliament to follow the lead given by Tuesday's
assembly. *3411
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic called the
Sarajevo vote tantamount to a rejection of the peace plan, the
Belgrade-based Tanjug news agency reported. «It is clear to
everyone that the plan is on the table and that it is either
accepted or not», said Karadzic, speaking in the northern BiH
town of Banja Luka. *3412
BiH army commander Rasim Delic called on citizens to
support the war effort, just hours after the parliament had
rejected the latest peace talks. In an address on Sarajevo radio,
Delic said that the army would «need the full support of those
who haven't given help so far». «Fighters, soldiers let us be
ready to defend this country», he added. *3413
(c) International reported events
In Washington, President Clinton expressed sympathy to
the BiH parliament's demands, but said that the price of
rejecting a peace agreement could be «very high». «I think
they're entitled to some more territory. But I don't know if they
can get it», Clinton said. «I think the price of passing up this
peace may be very high». *3414
30. 30/9/93 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The city was reported quiet after
an evening of intermittent shelling. Shelling was reported later
throughout the city, specifically in the Old Town. UNPROFOR
described a slow increase of tension in the city. Sniper
activities were reported high. Shelling was reported in Zuc and
in the north-west of the city. Shelling was also reported in the
Serb-held areas of Grbavica, Lukavica and Rajlovac.
Source(s):
UNPROFOR; Reuters; Agence France Presse; United Press
International.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc; the north-west of the city; the Old Town;
Grbavica; Lukavica; Rajlovac.
Source(s): Agence France Presse;
United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- A high level of sniping activity was reported
in the city.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- At least one person was killed and 15 others wounded
in shelling and sniping incidents.
Source(s): Agence France
Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo was quiet after an evening of intermittent
shelling, Sarajevo radio said. *3415 UNPROFOR described a slow
increase of tension in the city. Sniper activities were reported
high. Shelling was reported in Zuc and in the north-west of the
city. *3416
Shelling and sniping in the city left at least one
person dead and 15 wounded, hospital officials said. One of those
hurt, a woman whose flat was hit by a shell, died in an
unidentified hospital. Two children were injured in the same
attack. Several shells were reported to have hit the old part of
town and there was occasional firing reported in different parts
of the city. *3417
The Serb-held suburbs of Grbavica, Lukavica and
Rajlovac were reportedly shelled. *3418
(b) Local reported events
Opposition in BiH to President Alija Izetbegovic
mounted as thousands marched in protest in the western region one
day after the BiH parliament rejected a plan to end the war. «We
will not give 200,000 Muslims for Alija's state» clamored more
than 18,000 people on the street of Pecigrad, 150 miles
(240 kilometres) north-west of Sarajevo, said Croatian Radio
Zagreb. The people were referring to Izetbegovic's statement that
he would sacrifice 200,000 troops for the formation of a Bosnian
state at the beginning of the war in the spring of 1992.
Izetbegovic ordered the imposition of martial law in the Cazinska
Krajina region of western BiH after it proclaimed autonomy and he
declared the move unconstitutional. Forces loyal to Izetbegovic
who attempted to implement martial law were met with opposition
as people in the streets chanted «Long live the Autonomous Region
of Western Bosnia». Self-styled prime minister of the Western
Bosnian pocket, Bozidar Sicel, said that «nearly 75 per cent of
Bosnian government troops have signed the initiative for the
formation of the autonomous region», in an interview with
Croatian television. The self-styled parliament, headed by Zlatko
Jusic, a Croat, held its first parliamentary meeting to form the
ministry of foreign affairs and put the army and police under
unified command, said Radio Zagreb. An independent news agency
under the name of «ZBIA» was also formed as an alternative source
to government controlled Radio Sarajevo. *3419
The commander of the BiH government forces, Rasim
Delic, declared a cease-fire with Bosian Croat militia, known as
the HVO. The cease-fire was to take effect at noon in central BiH
and at 6:00 p.m. in Mostar. Delic said that he ordered all of his
troops to halt military offensives against HVO troops, but added
that his troops would answer with fire if they were attacked.
*3420
In Belgrade the president of the Serb self-proclaimed
parliament, Momcilo Krajisnik, urged the body to retaliate
against the BiH rejection of the peace plan by «retracting
certain territorial concessions» made
earlier. *3421
In Zagreb, the director of civilian affairs for
UNPROFOR, Cedric Thornberry, warned that the BiH parliament's
rejection of the Geneva plan could spark an escalation in the
fighting. *3422
Seven UNPROFOR and 20 UNHCR flights landed at the
airport. *3423
Ray Wilkinson, of the UNHCR warned that the prospect of
continued fighting into the winter «leaves us looking into the
jaws of a major disaster». *3424
(c) International reported events
Mediators David Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg held
consultations in Geneva to plot the future of BiH peace efforts,
with the diplomats saying that the BiH rejection of the partition
plan left few options open for ending the war. Their spokesman
John Mills declined to say if and when the European Community and
UN mediators would make a new attempt to bring the warring
parties back to the negotiating table. *3425
Nato in Brussels called on the parties in BiH to resume
peace talks, stating that it was continuing preparations to help
carry out a UN-backed peace plan. *3426
S. October 1993
1. 1/10/93 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The city came under overnight
shelling and sniper fire but fighting subsided in the morning.
UNPROFOR described the situation during the day as unstable with
artillery and mortar attacks. Heavy shelling was reported on the
frontline areas late in the evening and overnight.
Source(s):
Reuters; UNPROFOR; Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc; Grdonj; Colina Kapa; unidentified front line
areas; an UNPROFOR APC; the city centre.
Source(s): UNPROFOR;
Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- The city reportedly came under overnight sniper
fire.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Casualties :
- Two French soldiers were slightly wounded by a hand
grenade explosion on an APC. *3427 An UNPROFOR spokesman later
said that three French soldiers had been lightly wounded in two
separate incidents in the
city. *3428
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
The city came under overnight shelling and sniper fire
but fighting subsided in the morning. *3429
UNPROFOR described the situation in the city as
unstable with artillery and mortar attacks in the areas of Zuc,
Grdonj and Colina Kapa. Mount Igman was reported quiet. Two
French soldiers were slightly wounded by a hand grenade explosion
on an APC. *3430 An UNPROFOR spokesman later said that three
French soldiers had been lightly wounded in two separate
incidents in the
city. *3431
UNPROFOR Lieutenant Colonel Bill Aikman reported heavy
shelling of the city's frontline areas late in the evening and
overnight, along with limited shelling in the city centre. *3432
(b) Local reported events
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said that his side
was withdrawing territorial concessions it made to BiH in light
of the parliament's rejecting the recent peace plan. Karadzic's
statement, reported by the Tanjug news agency Saturday, followed
a threat from Bosnian Croats to also withdraw territorial
concessions they made to BiH if the plan was not accepted by all
of the parties by 15 October. The BiH foreign minister, Haris
Silajdzic, however, said that his side was ready to resume talks
with the Serbs and Croats. «We are ready to continue
(negotiating) as soon as we are invited», he said in an interview
broadcast on BiH radio and television. «In the short term I'm not
very optimistic», he added. Turning to the Croat threat to renege
on concessions, Silajdzic expressed surprise, saying that «such
an initiative is not in keeping with this (peace) process». *3433
In Zagreb, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman said that
Croatia might accept an extension of the UN mission on its
territory, despite its demands for peacekeepers to ensure the
return of lost land or leave. Tudjman, returning from New York
where he addressed the UN General Assembly, spoke as the UN
Security Council extended by 24 hours the mandate of its peace-
keeping force, which would have expired overnight. *3434
(c) International reported events
Lord Owen said that he and peace conference co-chairman
Thorvald Stoltenberg were abandoning attempts to immediately
reconvene talks on their plan to partition BiH into ethnic Croat,
Serb and Muslim mini-states. The plan was accepted in principle
by the Croats and Serbs but had been rejected recently by the BiH
parliament. Referring to the Bosnian Serb, Croat and Muslim
negotiating teams, Owen said, «There is perhaps too great a
tendency for the parties to believe that all they need to do is
turn up in Geneva [for peace talks]». «That is not enough. There
has to be a readiness to compromise». *3435
The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted
a one-day extension of the mandate of its peace-keeping force in
Croatia. *3436
The Chairman of the United Nations Commission of
Experts to investigate war crimes in the former Yugoslavia stated
that he had resigned from his post because frustration at the UN
bureaucracy and obstruction by Western governments had harmed his
health. «The Commission did not have the full political support
of major governments», Frits Kalshoven said. *3437
2. 2/10/93 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR described the city as calm
with some sporadic sniper activity and some mortar shelling in
Zuc, Vraca, Kobilja and Grdonj. *3438
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc; Vraca; Kobilja; Grdonj.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported sporadic sniper activity.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR described the city as calm with some sporadic
sniper activity and some mortar shelling in Zuc, Vraca, Kobilja
and Grdonj. *3439
3. 3/10/93 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR described Sarajevo as
quiet. However, unidentified gunfire was reported «both into and
out of» the city. *3440
Source(s): UNPROFOR
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- An Italian protester was hit by sniper fire on
the Vrbanja bridge.
Source(s): Reuters; Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- An Italian protestor was either killed or severely
wounded by sniper fire on the Vrbanja bridge.
Source(s): Reuters;
Agence France Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR described Sarajevo as quiet. However,
unidentified gunfire was reported «both into and out of the city.
*3441
An Italian citizen with the Catholic group «Blessed are
the Peacemakers» was shot by unidentified gunmen. Reports
conflicted as to whether he had been killed or wounded. One
report stated that Gabriele Moreno was fatally shot when he was
hit by two bullets as he and four other members of his peace
group attempted to cross a bridge over the Miljacka River. The
group had made two previous attempts to cross the Vrbanja bridge
but had been turned back by BiH forces. On the third attempt they
carried banners with the word «Mir» (Peace). Snipers then opened
fired from both sides of the front-line near the parliament
building. It was not clear who fired the shots. The man was
thereafter taken to the city's French hospital. *3442 Another
report, stated that the protester had been wounded and that his
life did not appear to be in danger. *3443
(b) Local reported events
The New York Times and Agence France Presse reported on
black market activity in Sarajevo. In particular, it was noted
that by day Serbian gunners in the suburb of Grbavica fought with
BiH soldiers, but by night the two forces met on bridges spanning
the Miljacka, conducting a thriving black market trade. *3444
4. 4/10/93(Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR described the situation in
the city as stable with some shelling observed in the areas of
Zuc and Kobilja Glava (north of the city). Sniper activity was
also continuing. *3445
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc; Kobilja Glava.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported continued sniper fire in the
city.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR described the situation in the city as stable
with some shelling observed in the areas of Zuc and Kobila Glava
(north of the city). Sniper activity was also continuing. *3446
5. 5/10/93 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Not specified
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
No incidents reported.
(b) Local reported events
In an incident which reflected the growing willingness
of Sarajevans to venture into open areas vulnerable to mortar and
gunfire, a crowd of several hundred people gathered along the
embankment of the Miljacka River, watching for a half an hour as
men waded into the water to save a drowning dog. There were
cheers as the men lassoed the animal and pulled it to safety.
*3447
6. 6/10/93 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR described the city as
unstable. Monitoring officers reported that some sporadic
artillery and mortar fire initiated by Serb forces had fallen in
the north, central and southern parts of the city. *3448
Observers noted an increase in shelling in the wake of last
week's decision by the BiH parliament to reject the latest peace
terms. *3449
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- The north, central and southern sections of the
city; an unidentified schoolyard in the city centre.
Source(s):
UNPROFOR; Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Both sides reported sniping and shelling in the
city. Sniper fire could be heard in the morning. *3450 Sniper
fire directed towards a UN vehicle was reported. *3451 French
troops escorting workmen positioning shipping containers used to
protect people from sniper fire were shot at by snipers, UNPROFOR
said. The French UNPROFOR soldiers fired back with heavy machine-
guns from their armoured vehicles. No casualties among the French
were reported. *3452 Some sniper fire was reported in the city
centre. *3453
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR; Agence France
Presse.
- Casualties :
- Two people were reportedly killed and five others
wounded when a single mortar shell hit a schoolyard in the city
centre. *3454
Source(s): The Press Association; Agence France
Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR described the city as unstable. Monitoring
officers reported that some sporadic artillery and mortar fire
initiated by Serb forces had fallen in the north, central and
southern parts of the city. *3455
Two people were reportedly killed and five wounded when
a single mortar shell hit a street in the city centre. *3456 The
shell reportedly fell at 2:30 p.m. among a group of people in a
schoolyard inhabited by refugees in the downtown area. The shell
was reportedly Serb-fired. The victims killed included a 38 year-
old mother and her five year-old daughter who were refugees
living in the school. The five wounded included two children.
*3457
(b) Local reported events
BiH President Alija Izetbegovic left for New York to
explain to the United Nations why his parliament effectively
rejected the latest Geneva peace plan. The parliament said it
accepted the plan which would divide BiH into three ethnic
statelets, but only on condition that «land seized by force» was
returned. *3458
7. 7/10/93 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Shelling and sniping were
noticeably more intense in the city after BiH President
Izetbegovic stated that his government could never accept the
terms of the latest peace plan.
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- The airport area; the city centre; BiH command
headquarters.
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniping in the city was noticeably more
intense.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Casualties :
- Four persons were wounded when a mortar round hit the
city
centre; *3459 UNPROFOR monitoring officers confirmed three
civilians dead and 12 injured in the city. *3460
Source(s):
Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Hostilities increased after BiH President Izetbegovic
stated that Bosnians his government could never accept the latest
plan to end the fighting. *3461
In Sarajevo, which had enjoyed relative peace in recent
days, shelling and sniping were noticeably more intense. UN
spokesman Idesbald Van Biesebroeck described the situation in the
city as «unstable», with shelling around the airport and small-
arms and heavy machine-gun fire between BiH and Serb settlements
nearby. *3462
A mortar round reportedly hit the city centre, wounding
four
people. *3463
UNPROFOR reported that most of the shelling originated
from the Serb side. *3464 One small-arms bullet came through a
window on the second floor of BiH Command Forward Headquarters.
No casualties resulted. *3465
(b) Local reported events
In a recent poll in Sarajevo, only 50 per cent of those
interviewed said they planned to stay in BiH if peace came.
Refugees comprised the highest percentage (67 per cent) of those
saying that they would stay. Only 20 per cent of students and
those with a college education said that they would remain. *3466
(c) International reported events
In New York, BiH President Izetbegovic stated that his
parliament had rejected a peace plan that would have divided BiH
into three ethnic mini-states, because his country was being
subjected to «political vivisection». He repeated demands that
Serbs and Croatians give back more land than they had agreed to
under the plan. «The unjust peace plan is flawed because it is
based upon the repugnant and historically failed concept of
ethnic partition and apartheid», he told the UN General Assembly.
*3467
8. 8/10/93 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
(b) Local reported events
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic stated in an
interview that his troops would not renew their attacks on
Sarajevo and other strongholds. «We are of the same blood, we are
all Slavs», he said. He repudiated earlier statements, including
threats by Serbian commanders to use renewed artillery
bombardments against the city. «No, no, we will never do that»,
he said. «We don't intend to resume the war. We don't intend to
punish the Muslims because they didn't sign. We don't intend to
take territory we consider Muslim. Serbs are not fighting now.
For us, the war is finished». Referring specifically to events in
the city, Karadzic stated, «[T]he siege of Sarajevo is over».
*3470
UNPROFOR issued a statement saying that it had
appointed an Austrian UN military officer, Major General Gunther
Greindl to chair a commission probing allegations against
UNPROFOR soldiers and other personnel. The six-week inquiry was
ordered by UNPROFOR commander General Jean Cot after media
reports of alleged widespread black market dealing and other
improper behaviour by UN troops in Sarajevo. *3471
(c) International reported events
BiH President Izetbegovic and Croatian President
Tudjman talked in Vienna but made no apparent breakthrough to
revive stalled peace negotiations. They told a news conference
that they had discussed proposed changes to the peace-keeping
force in BiH, but made no mention of new moves to resolve major
differences on the latest Geneva peace plan. They issued a joint
proposal calling on NATO to send peace-keeping forces to BiH and
Croatia. *3472
9. 9/10/93 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported that Bosnian Serb
forces fired 64 shells into the Zuc, Kobilja Glava and Mojmilo
districts. BiH forces were reported to have shelled the Serb
ammunition factory at Vogosca. Sniper fire from both sides was
reported as active, particularly in the Grbavica
area. *3473
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc; Kobilja Glava and Mojmilo Districts; Serb
ammunition factory in Vogosca.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire from both sides was reported as
active, particularly in the Grbavica area.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR reported that Bosnian Serb forces fired 64
shells into the Zuc, Kobilja Glava and Mojmilo districts. BiH
forces were reported to have shelled the Serb ammunition factory
at Vogosca. Sniper fire from both sides was reported as active,
particularly in the Grbavica area. *3474
10. 10/10/93 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sniping and machine-gun fire was
reported in the city early in the day after overnight shelling.
UNPROFOR reported that Bosnian Serb forces hit the city with over
100 shell rounds and that BiH forces shelled the Vogosca
ammunition factory.
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc Hill; Old Town; the Vogosca ammunition factory.
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Reports stated that there was heavy sniping in
the
city. *3475 UNPROFOR, however, reported a slight decrease in
sniper
activity. *3476
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sniping and machine-gun fire were reported in the city
early in the day after overnight shelling. *3477
UNPROFOR reported that Serb shelling of the city
continued with more than 100 rounds hitting the city. BiH forces
were reported to have fired seven mortar rounds at the Vogosca
ammunition factory. *3478
The contested Zuc hill to the north of the city centre
was shelled by Serb forces. The Old Town area was also reportedly
shelled. *3479
(b) Local reported events
UNPROFOR officials said that medical evacuations were
set to resume after Ismet Bajramovic, the former chief of the
city's military police, was airlifted out as part of a deal with
Bosnian Serbs. Bajramovic, who was suffering from serious chest
wounds after being hit by a bullet, was taken to an Italian
hospital on board a British aeroplane, UNHCR spokesman Ray
Wilkinson said. All medical evacuations had been suspended after
Bosnian Serbs refused to let Bajramovic leave Sarajevo for
treatment, charging that he was a war criminal. It was reported
that BiH foreign minister Silajdzic demanded Bajramovic's
evacuation, but that Bosnian Serbs insisted that he could leave
only if three ill Bosnian Serbs were taken from Sarajevo to
hospitals in Belgrade. The three Bosnian Serbs and five members
of their families were taken to Belgrade by road Saturday.
Bajramovic's evacuation opened the way for medical evacuations to
resume. However, UNHCR spokesman Wilkinson accused the two sides
of playing a «political game», which had even put UNHCR personnel
in physical danger. According to a UN source, the medical
evacuation unit was forced to close its hospital office on Friday
and Saturday after receiving threats. *3480
11. 11/10/93 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sarajevo came under artillery,
machine-gun and sniper fire overnight, but the bombardment died
down by the morning. UNPROFOR reported an estimated 155 shell
impacts.
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire was reported overnight.
Source(s):
Reuters.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
The city reportedly came under artillery, machine-gun
and sniper fire overnight but the bombardment died down by
morning. *3481
UNPROFOR described the situation in Sarajevo as
unstable with continuous shelling during the day. An estimated
150 shell impacts were recorded in BiH controlled areas and four
in Serb controlled areas. Mount Igman was described as calm.
*3482
(c) International reported events
12. 12/10/93 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Shelling was reported overnight in
an upsurge of fighting. UNPROFOR described the city as tense and
unstable with a high level of sniper fire. Monitors recorded 160
shell impacts in the city.
Source(s): Reuters; Agence France
Presse; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- BiH front lines; unidentified BiH-controlled areas.
Source(s): Reuters; Agence France Presse; UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported a high level of sniper
activity. One French soldier was struck in the head by sniper
fire. His condition was serious but not life threatening. *3484
The sniping reportedly took place near the Old Town's Skenderija
district. *3485 A French UNPROFOR officer was seriously wounded
by a sniper on his way down from Mount Igman. *3486 The officer,
a captain serving with the Foreign Legion, was wounded in the
head and was scheduled to be evacuated to France. *3487
Source(s): UNPROFOR; Chicago Tribune; Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Bosnian Serb forces reportedly shelled BiH front lines
overnight in an upsurge of fighting. *3488
UNPROFOR described the city as tense and unstable with
a high level of sniper fire. Monitors recorded 67 shell impacts,
*3489 all in BiH controlled areas. Mount Igman was reported as
quiet. *3490
UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman stated that the HVO had
severed the city's supply routes from the Adriatic coast. The HVO
had reportedly mined the main road to the city between Visoko and
Kiseljak and was blocking UN aid convoys along the Busovaca-
Kiseljak road, the secondary route to
Sarajevo. *3491
(b) Local reported events
The UNHCR announced that the Sarajevo airlift was in
its 467th day, overtaking the 462 days of the Berlin airlift
between June 1948 and September 1949. *3492 Berlin had received
more than two million tons of food and coal on 277,000 flights,
while Sarajevo had received 63,000 tons of aid on 5,800 flights
since July 1992. *3493
Sarajevo lost its electricity supply because of a
breakdown somewhere between Jablanica and Kakanj, south-west of
the city. This reportedly reduced the city's water supply.
UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman said that UNPROFOR technicians
were trying to restore the power supply. *3494
13. 13/10/93 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Heavy machine-gun and sniper fire
reportedly subsided in the morning. *3495 UNPROFOR described
Sarajevo as tense with widespread sniper fire and continued
artillery and mortar fire. Monitors recorded 94 shell impacts.
*3496
Source(s): Reuters; UNPRPOFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Hadzici; Zuc; Kobilja Glava; Grdonj; Hladivode;
Vasin Han; Colina Kapa.
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Heavy sniper fire reportedly subsided in the
morning. UNPROFOR described widespread sniper fire during the
day.
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Sniper fire wounded two people. *3497 An HVO
infantry attack, reportedly killed two persons. *3498
Source(s):
Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Heavy machine-gun and sniper fire reportedly subsided
in the morning. Sarajevo radio said that Bosnian Serb forces
shelled BiH army defence lines near Hadzici close to the city,
and that Croat HVO forces had then launched an infantry attack,
killing two persons. *3499
UNPROFOR described Sarajevo as tense with widespread
sniper fire and continued artillery and mortar fire, mainly
around Zuc, Kobilja Glava, Grdonj, Hladivode, Vasin Han and
Colina Kapa. Monitors recorded 94 shell
impacts. *3500
Sarajevo radio reported that shelling subsided in the
afternoon, but that intensive sniper fire wounded two people.
*3501
Reuters noted a sharp rise in shelling and sniping in
the city. The UN reportedly stated that this activity was a
reminder to the city that it was still at the mercy of the
besieging forces. *3502 UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman stated:
«Our impression is that it has been a decision by the Serbs to
maintain pressure on the city and make sure that the government
within the city is aware of what they are capable of doing».
*3503
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
BiH ambassador to the UN, Muhammed Sacirbey, stated
that his government could not count on the world enforcing a
peace settlement in BiH in the light of recent events in Somalia
and Haiti. «The Bosnians have to reconsider whether or not they
can rely on any segment of the international community», he said
in Washington. In the absence of credible guarantees from the UN
and NATO «we may need to go back to the strategy of preparing
ourselves for an indefinite period of time for a defensive war»,
he said. *3506
In Brussels, Manfred Woerner, Secretary General of
NATO, told ambassadors from the 16 member countries that NATO air
strikes in BiH «are still on the agenda». *3507
14. 14/10/93 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The city came under overnight
shelling attacks. Sirens sounded a general alert in the morning
as Bosnian Serb forces hit the Zuc hill area in apparent
retaliation for an early morning BiH attack on the Vogosca
industrial area. UNPROFOR reported a heavy exchange of fire
around Stup in the afternoon and around the Tito Barracks
throughout the day.
Source(s): Reuters; Agence France Presse;
UNPROFOR; United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc Hill; Vogosca; Stup; Tito Barracks; central
Sarajevo; the outskirts of the city.
Source(s): Agence France
Presse; Reuters; UNPROFOR; United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- According to UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman,
sniper fire was increasing in the city. UN peacekeepers were also
increasingly being targeted by snipers, with four UN vehicles hit
in Sarajevo during the last 36 hours and two soldiers wounded,
Aikman added. *3508
Source(s): Reuters.
- Casualties :
- Sarajevo radio reported that Bosnian Serb forces
shelled both civilian targets and positions of the BiH forces
both in central Sarajevo and on the outskirts of the city. No
casualty figure was available but doctors in hospitals throughout
the city said that they had admitted a number of injured persons,
according to the radio. *3509
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
The city came under overnight shelling, with machine-
gun and sniper fire lasting into the morning. *3510
Sirens sounded a general alert in the city in the
morning as Serb gunners hit the contested northern Zuc hill near
the old part of the city. The shelling was reportedly in
retaliation for an earlier BiH attack. (According to reports, the
BiH forces attacked the Vogosca industrial area at around 7:30
a.m. local time) *3511
«There has been steady firing into the city over the
last 24 hours», UNPROFOR spokesman Colonel Bill Aikman said. BiH
forces used mortars and small-arms to fire at Serb lines at
Vogosca, north of the city, he added. «The Serbs decided to throw
everything they could back. For about an hour it was quite
dramatic in town», Aikman said. «Certainly the tensions around
here are rising, certainly the fire into the city is clearly up
and I think everyone has reason to be concerned». *3512
UNPROFOR reported that the situation in the city
remained unstable and was expected to continue as Serb forces re-
occupied many previously abandoned positions. UNPROFOR also
reported a heavy exchange of fire around Stup in the afternoon
and around the Marsal Tito Barracks throughout the day. *3513
(b) Local reported events
The leaders of Serbia and the self-declared Serbian
state in BiH reportedly urged Croatia, Bosnian Croats and the BiH
government to renew direct negotiations. *3514
An operation to fly out sick and wounded patients from
Sarajevo was called off as Bosnian Serb officials imposed new
conditions for the evacuation. Dr. Genevieve Begkoyian said that
Bosnian Serb authorities had insisted on being given a list of
all patients to be evacuated 48 hours in advance, a demand which
she described as inconsistent with the urgent nature of the
evacuation operation. Two flights, one due to take four patients
to France and another to fly four more to Italy, were canceled as
ambulances stood by to take the patients to the airport.
Begkoyian said that it was also not certain if eight children
awaiting evacuation to the US could leave as planned. She added
that of all of these cases, two were emergencies: one man with
burns and the other a child with a brain tumor. Altogether, 127
sick and wounded persons were awaiting evacuation from the city.
However, there were reportedly only 47 beds reserved for them at
foreign
hospitals. *3515
(c) International reported events
In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner
warned that the US would be reluctant to send peace-keeping
troops to BiH after recent events in Somalia and Haiti. But he
added that the alliance could not enforce a peace plan without US
assistance. «NATO will not do it and cannot do it without the
United States . . . We could not even try». *3516
15. 15/10/93 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported the situation in
the city as unstable with scattered Serb shelling concentrated in
the Zuc area. The SRNA news agency reported BiH gun fire on Serb-
held suburbs around the city.
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Unidentified Serb-held areas; Zuc; the Holiday Inn;
an unidentified UN observers' mission.
Source(s): Reuters;
UNPROFOR; Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- BiH radio reported that sniper fire wounded one
person in the city. *3517
Source(s): Reuters.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
The Bosnian Serb SRNA news agency reported sporadic BiH
artillery and machine-gun fire on Serb-held suburbs around the
city. *3518
UNPROFOR reported the situation in the city as unstable
with scattered Serb shelling concentrated in the Zuc area.
UNPROFOR commented that shelling of Zuc was an attempt to drive
BiH lines back from positions able to fire into Vogosca. UNPROFOR
also announced that the French Battalion on Mount Igman had been
rotated. *3519
The Holiday Inn was reportedly hit by a short burst of
small-arms fire in the evening. *3520
Four artillery shells landed next to a UN observers'
mission on one of the heights south-east of the city in the
evening. According to UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman, observers
thought that Serb forces were responsible for the shelling. *3521
(b) Local reported events
16. 16/10/93 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported an unusually
active day with approximately 600 shell impacts recorded in the
city. (A later report said that UNPROFOR counted 570 shell
impacts.) *3523 UNPROFOR commented that this fire was prompted
by an early morning attack by the BiH army 10th Brigade, aimed at
cutting the road to Pale in the south-east of the city. Serb
forces reportedly responded with very heavy fire directed at
military and civilian targets. *3524 UNPROFOR spokesman, Bill
Aikman said that BiH forces had fired about 10 mortar rounds at
the Serbs, who responded with heavy artillery into the old town
district. He told reporters that the Serb forces were using 152
millimetre artillery. «That's pretty heavy stuff», he said. *3525
Aikman said that Serbian forces began their response by using
barrel bombs filled with a mixture of explosives and fuel,
detonated by a delayed-action timer. Colonel Aikman said that at
least six of the bombs were rolled down the steep Trebevic
hillside into the Bistrik district, causing craters 20 feet
across and six feet deep. *3526 Residents said that the
explosions had destroyed three
homes. *3527
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Bistrik district; the Old Town district;
unidentified Bosnian Serb positions; Dobrinja.
Source(s): New
York Times; Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Blasts in the Bistrik district reportedly
caused craters 20 feet across and six feet deep; three homes were
reportedly destroyed in the Bistrik district.
Source(s): New York
Times; Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire was reported overnight and into the
morning.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Casualties :
- There were at least 10 persons confirmed killed and
70 others wounded in the city. *3528 City authorities said that
at least 12 civilians had been killed in the city in the 24 hour
period ending at 1:00 p.m.
Saturday. *3529 According to officials at the city's two main
hospitals, eight people had been killed in the city and 55
wounded in the past 24 hours. *3530 Fifteen persons were also
reported seriously wounded. *3531
Source(s): New York Times;
United Press International; Agence France Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Persistent artillery, machine-gun and sniper fire hit
the city overnight and into the morning. *3532 Serb forces
reportedly hit the city with a barrage of artillery rounds,
shutting down the airport in the heaviest shelling in several
weeks. *3533
Radio Sarajevo issued a warning for the city's citizens
to remain inside their homes and to take shelter in basements.
The radio did not offer any casualty numbers in the day's
attacks, but quoted city authorities as saying that at least 12
civilians had been killed in the city in the 24 hour period
ending at 1:00 p.m. Saturday. *3534
Bosnian Serb forces hit the city with at least 30 152
millimetre tank shells. Doctors at the trauma clinic at Kosevo
Hospital, said that four people who had been brought to the
clinic had died of their wounds and that 30 others had been
treated. One of the wounded included a woman named Cima Zenic,
who suffered shrapnel cuts from a shell that destroyed her home
in the Bistrik district and killed her 22 year-old daughter-in-
law. In broadcasts from Pale, the Serbian leadership blamed the
BiH forces for the renewed fighting around the city, stating that
units defending the city had opened fire first with mortar and
other attacks on Serbian positions. The BiH Government disputed
this, stating that the Serbian forces began the assault at 4:00
a.m. by rolling oil barrels filled with explosives down the
slopes of Trebevic Mountain into the heavily populated Bistrik
district. *3535
The airport was closed for three hours due to the
shelling. A UN monitoring patrol being evacuated from their
observation post (due to the heavy shell fire) was reported
arrested by BiH forces. Their vehicles, equipment, and that of
their French escort were seized and not yet
returned. *3536
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
17. 17/10/93 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR described the city as
tense, but noted that the level of shelling had been
significantly reduced from that of the previous day. Artillery
impacts were reported in the city centre. Tank activity was
reported around Lukavica. Sniper and heavy machine-gun fire were
continuous throughout the day. *3539
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- City centre; unidentified districts in the south and
north-east of the city; water line in Dobrinja; Hrasnica;
Sokolovic Colony.
Source(s): UNPROFOR; Agence France Presse; New
York Times.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported that sniper and heavy machine-
gun fire were continuous throughout the day. *3540
Source(s):
UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- At least six civilians were reported killed; *3541
The city crisis centre reported that 13 people had been killed
and 78 wounded in the 24 hours up to Sunday morning. *3542
Source(s): Chicago Tribune.
- Narrative of Events :
-
The city was subjected to sporadic artillery, machine-
gun and small-arms fire overnight. *3543
The shelling in the city was reported as lighter than
on Saturday. On both days, BiH army officials claimed that Serbs
were using chemical weapons, but these reports could not be
substantiated. NATO warplanes flew low-level sorties over Serbian
gun positions on the mountains surrounding the city in an
apparent warning to Serb leaders. *3544
Districts in the south and north-east of the city were
targeted by gunners, the same areas hit on Saturday, according to
UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman. *3545
A Serbian mortar shell reportedly struck among
residents lining up at a well in the Dobrinja suburb. Yusuf
Hajir, the Palestinian director of the Dobrinja clinic said that
13 people were wounded, six seriously. *3546
In separate mortar attacks on the suburbs of Hrasnica
and Sokolovic Colony, six people were reported killed and six
others wounded. *3547
(b) Local reported events
BiH army 1st Corps commander Bihir Karavelic said that
Saturday's artillery barrage could be a sign that Bosnian Serbs
were preparing an assault on the city. UN officials had reported
Serb troop movements around the city but were unsure whether the
Serbs planned an offensive. Bosnian Serbs were reported to have
said that it was the BiH forces who were trying to push forward
on fronts in central BiH. *3548
UNPROFOR commander, General Jean Cot, met with BiH army
commanders in Sarajevo to protest the temporary detention of
eight or nine *3549 UNPROFOR soldiers by BiH irregular troops on
Saturday. *3550 UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman said that the
incident started after a house used by three of the captured
observers was damaged by shellfire and their vehicles were
destroyed. Six UNPROFOR soldiers in two armoured personnel
carriers went to rescue the observers and were detained by the
BiH soldiers. The BiH soldiers reportedly freed the UNPROFOR
soldiers and observers three hours later but kept one APC and
some equipment. *3551 It was reported that the unit responsible
for this incident was commanded by the local BiH leader «Caco».
*3552
18. 18/10/93 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Fighting reportedly decreased
around Sarajevo, but the city continued to be shelled. Nineteen
shells reportedly hit the city overnight and BiH forces returned
a smaller number of rounds. UNPROFOR recorded 40 mortar and
artillery shells in the Zuc area.
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc.
Source(s): Reuters; UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper activity was reported at a higher level.
*3553
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Fighting reportedly decreased around Sarajevo, but the
city continued to be shelled. A UN spokesman said that 19 shells
hit the city overnight and that BiH forces had returned a smaller
number of rounds. *3554
UNPROFOR described the city as less tense. Monitors
recorded 40 mortar and artillery rounds in the area of Zuc.
Sporadic tank activity was observed throughout the city area.
*3555
(b) Local reported events
BiH forces returned one of the two armoured vehicles
taken from UNPROFOR over the weekend. Brigade commander Mensud
Lagundzija said the other carrier, mounted with a machine-gun and
containing UNPROFOR light weapons and bullet proof vests,
remained in a dangerous war zone and would be retrieved under
cover of darkness. *3556
The weekend incident in which UNPROFOR soldiers were
detained and their weapons and vehicles confiscated, could have
«serious repercussions» on the continuance of the mission in
Sarajevo, UN commander Cot warned. A statement released by
UNPROFOR in Belgrade said that General Cot met with BiH President
Alija Izetbegovic and BiH General Rasim Delic and demanded
explanation and assurances that no other troops would be
harassed. Cot said that he was «disgusted» by the incident. The
BiH leaders said that they would settle the incident in the
«shortest possible time». *3557
(c) International reported events
International mediators trying to come up with a
peaceful solution to the war were working on a new «global
approach», UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said.
Boutros-Ghali told the French daily Le Monde that he met mediator
Thorvald Stoltenberg on 9 October to discuss all options in case
a peace plan for BiH failed and the situation deteriorated in
Croatia and Serbia. «We worked on the idea of a global approach
and a new international conference following the London
conference», he said. Boutros-Ghali said that the plan to divide
BiH into three ethnic mini-states was not dead. «No, nothing is
buried», he said. «We must be very flexible, very pragmatic.
Suppose that tomorrow the parties in ex-Yugoslavia suddenly come
to agreement. One can never know». *3558
The US State Department warned the Serbian leadership
for the second time in two months of the possibility of NATO air
strikes if there was an increase in attacks on Sarajevo. The
warning was contained in a message from Secretary of State Warren
Christopher to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, reminding
him of the statement on 3 August by NATO that it would not
tolerate «the strangulation of Sarajevo and other areas», and
that it was ready to order retaliatory air strikes against
Bosnian Serbs. US State Department spokesman, Michael McCurry
noted that «there has generally been an improvement», in the
situation in Sarajevo since attacks in early August, but that
there had been «a sharp escalation of shelling» by Bosnian Serb
forces in recent days. No mention was made in the announcement of
the BiH attacks south-west of Sarajevo, which, according to
UNPROFOR, provoked the Serbian shelling. Asked about low-level
sorties flown by NATO warplanes over Sarajevo on Sunday, a State
Department official said that they had been scheduled as practice
runs before the latest artillery exchanges and were not related
to actions on the ground. *3559
19. 19/10/93 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported a lower level of
shelling activity in the city. However, 100 mortar and artillery
rounds were observed falling on the Old Town area. *3560
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Old Town area.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- BiH authorities said that three people were killed
and 26 wounded by shelling and sniping in the 24 hours up to
Tuesday afternoon. *3561 Sarajevo radio said that one person was
killed and three injured during the days's shelling. *3562
Source(s): Reuters; United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR reported a lower level of shelling activity in
the city. However, 100 mortar and artillery rounds were observed
falling on the Old Town area. *3563
Mount Igman was described as quiet. *3564
UNPROFOR reported that the seized French vehicles had
been recovered, but that the weapons remained with the BiH army's
10th Brigade. *3565
(b) Local reported events
The evacuation of the sick and wounded from Sarajevo,
suspended since 7 October resumed when 13 people were flown out
of the city to Kuwait along with eight of their relatives. Three
others were flown to France, a spokeswoman for the Organization
for International Migration (OIM), Regina Boucaut, said in
Geneva. A US aeroplane was scheduled to fly out later in the day
with six evacuees and five of their relatives. OIM and the UNHCR
were in charge of carrying out the evacuations. Serb forces
reportedly allowed the operation to resume after humanitarian
officials fulfilled their last demand to evacuate a severely
wounded Serb girl from Sarajevo to Belgrade and then on to
Ancona, Italy. *3566
UNPROFOR stated that it was suspending its repair work
in the city as long as BiH forces refused to return a French
armoured car they seized. UNPROFOR stated that the work, which
involved repairing electricity and water lines as well as garbage
removal, would be suspended until the armoured car was returned.
*3567 Sarajevo radio denounced the UN's action as an unwarranted
collective punishment of innocent civilians. It was later
reported that the BiH forces returned the stolen vehicle and that
UN officials said that they would resume repairs in the city.
*3568
Ivica Dacic, spokesman for the ruling Socialist Party
in Belgrade said that a US warning that air strikes could be made
against Bosnian Serbs if they continued their attacks was an
example of US bias against Serbs. Dacic stated, «This is just
another example of double standards towards the warring sides in
BiH where the Serbs are always being blamed for the war». *3569
20. 20/10/93 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR described Sarajevo as
relatively quiet, except between 1:00-1:50 p.m., when the city
was heavily shelled. Monitors reported that at least 200 rounds
of mixed calibre shells fell on the city. UNPROFOR commented that
the shellfire was provoked by BiH fire from mortar positions
located close to the hospital. Mount Igman was described as
quiet. *3570 UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman stated in a later
report that there had been intense artillery fire along the front-
line north of the Kosevo Hospital. *3571
Source(s): UNPROFOR;
Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- Front-line areas north of the Kosevo hospital.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire throughout the city continued. One
French soldier was wounded when a small-arms round ricocheted off
his vehicle. *3572 UNPROFOR also reported an increase in sniper
activity in two unidentified Sarajevo neighbourhoods under
Serbian control. *3573
Source(s): UNPROFOR; Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR described Sarajevo as relatively quiet, except
between 1:00-1:50 p.m., when the city was heavily shelled.
Monitors reported that at least 200 rounds of mixed calibre
shells fell on the city. UNPROFOR commented that the shellfire
was provoked by BiH fire from mortar positions located close to
the hospital. Mount Igman was described as quiet. *3574
UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman stated in a later report
that there had been intense artillery fire along the front-line
north of the Kosevo
Hospital. *3575
21. 21/10/93 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported shelling in the
eastern part of the city in the morning. Observers counted 42
mortar, seven artillery and 15 tank rounds initiated by Serb
forces. This shelling activity calmed down by noon. *3576
Sarajevo radio reported that the city was struck by 64
shells. *3577
Source(s): UNPROFOR; United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Eastern part of the city.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
BiH radio reported that the city was quiet overnight
with isolated machine-gun and small-arms fire. *3578 The radio
reported that a new assault on the city began at 8:00 a.m.. City
officials sounded a general alert and urged citizens to take
immediate cover. *3579
UNPROFOR reported shelling in the eastern part of the
city in the morning. Observers counted 42 mortar, seven artillery
and 15 tank rounds initiated by Serb forces. This shelling
activity calmed down by noon. *3580
Sarajevo radio reported that the city was struck by 64
shells on this day. *3581
UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman said that a UN repair
team were shot at by BiH government forces as they went out to
fix a war-damaged link in the major hydro-electric power line
serving the city. The crew, traveling in several UN armoured
cars, were reportedly stopped at a BiH checkpoint just short of
Kiseljak. The government army command in Sarajevo had given
permission for the repair job, but the local checkpoint commander
ignored the permit papers. «He refused to let us pass, commenting
to the effect that if his town did not have electricity, no one
else was going to get it», Aikman told reporters. «During
negotiations in which the Canadian engineering unit tried to get
through, they were shot at, about 20 rounds, several bouncing off
the APCs», he said. «So they turned around and returned to base
and we are without electricity in Sarajevo for another several
days». *3582
(b) Local reported events
UNPROFOR commander General Jean Cot, issued a directive
to his sector commanders to try to obtain assurances from
military commanders of the warring factions that local cease-fire
agreements would be respected. In the directive, made public on
Friday, Cot told his subordinates to «negotiate the cessation of
hostilities with the military commanders of the warring factions
at all levels and interpose UNPROFOR troops, establishing
observation posts as necessary». Cot asked his commanders to
«assist in assessing the requirements, distribution and
monitoring of humanitarian aid and increase the protection of the
local population». In his statement Cot said «the implementation
of these initiatives will require the political commitment of the
warring parties at the highest level and could create the
momentum required to initiate the needed atmosphere of trust to
negotiate a global cease-fire». *3583
22. 22/10/93 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR described the city as
calm. Monitors reported 60 shell impacts mainly in the area north
of the PTT Building. *3584
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- The area north of the PTT building.
Source(s):
UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire reportedly continued throughout the
city slightly wounding a French soldier in both legs. A UN
monitoring patrol was also fired upon by a sniper. *3585
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Sarajevo reported that at least two persons were
killed and nine wounded in morning shelling. *3586
Source(s):
Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR described the city as calm. Monitors reported
60 shell impacts mainly in the area north of the PTT Building.
*3587
BiH radio reported that the city was still without
electricity because UN engineers could not repair power lines
without risking being shot. *3588
(b) Local reported events
Bosnian Muslim leader Fikret Abdic, signed a peace
agreement with Bosnian Serbs. He reached the agreement in
Belgrade with Radovan Karadzic and Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic, who stated that it would «bring peace to half of
(Bosnia)». In a joint declaration, Karadzic recognized the
Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia, which Abdic set up in the
Bihac pocket after the BiH parliament last month rejected an
international peace conference to end the war. *3589
23. 23/10/93 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman
stated that Bosnian Serb artillery launched some 830 shells into
Sarajevo while BiH forces also fired «some shots». *3590 Aikman
stated that the Serb forces launched the shells between 7:30 a.m.
and 4:30 p.m.. «We cannot say who started the battle», Aikman
said, adding that unlike last weekend, the BiH army had not
attempted reprisals. The focus of the attack was reportedly Zuc
hill which was still in BiH hands. The area around the Vogosca
industrial zone was also targeted as was the south-east of the
city including parts of the Old Town. Shells reportedly landed
close to the UN's observation post south of Colina Kapa, in south-
east Sarajevo. *3591
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc; north area of the city; south area of the city;
south-east area of the city; Old Town area; New Town area;
Vogosca; UN observation post south of Colina Kapa.
Source(s):
UNPROFOR; Reuters; Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- According to UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman, a
sniper shot and slightly wounded a French UN soldier near
Skenderija, in the south-east of the city. *3592
Source(s):
Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Hospitals reported at least five people dead and 37
others wounded in the day's shelling. *3593 A report on Sunday
stated that 10 people were killed and at least 55 were wounded.
*3594 The Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA reported three civilians
killed and at least 10 wounded in a BiH artillery attack on the
suburb of Ilidza. *3595
Source(s): Agence France Presse; Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR reported 800 shell rounds in the Zuc area.
Monitors also reported 100 shell rounds in the north area of the
city and 100 shell rounds in the south-east area of the city (in
the area of the BiH 10th
Brigade). *3596
The local media reported more than 200 artillery
impacts in the
city. *3597
Reports described a Serbian artillery bombardment on
the Old Town and New Town areas, as well as the north-western
suburbs. Sarajevo radio reported that BiH army positions on Zuc
Hill were hit by Serb shelling while NATO jets flew low overhead.
*3598
(b) Local reported events
BiH Foreign Minister Haris Silajdzic protested to
Bosnian Croat leader Mate Boban against his signing a peace pact
with Fikret Abdic. Boban and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic
both signed agreements during the week with Abdic, president of
the self-proclaimed Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia which
had broken with the BiH government. *3599
Government leaders and UN officials were among the 500
well-dressed guests who gathered at an international film
festival in the city. The 10 day event was planned to boost the
city's morale in the face of the siege. «Despite this most brutal
siege happening at the end of the 20th century in the middle of
Europe, we still have to manage our lives every day and we are
able now to present films in our city», said festival organizer
Haris Pasovic. The festival proceeded, in spite of the absence of
British actors, including Vanessa Redgrave, who were supposed to
be honorary patrons of the festival. The UN refused to fly them
from Italy on aeroplanes used to bring humanitarian aid to the
city. *3600
(c) International reported events
UN mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg held talks with
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on the stalled peace
process, Tanjug news agency said, quoting a presidential
statement. Stoltenberg and Milosevic agreed that the factions
should be encouraged to settle outstanding issues «as quickly as
possible», Tanjug said. *3601
24. 24/10/93 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported between 77 and
100 artillery impacts, mostly in the area of Zuc, Mojmilo and
Vogosca (70 Serb and seven BiH in origin). *3602
Source(s):
UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc; Mojmilo; Vogosca.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper activity reportedly decreased. *3603
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo radio described the city as quiet after coming
under a heavy artillery bombardment on Saturday. *3604
UNPROFOR reported between 77 and 100 artillery impacts,
mostly in the area of Zuc, Mojmilo and Vogosca (70 Serb and seven
BiH in origin). *3605
25. 25/10/93 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR monitors counted 390 shell
impacts on the city. *3606
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Vogosca.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper activity remained at a high level. *3607
A sniper shot and seriously wounded a four month-old baby in its
stroller on a Sarajevo street. The mother was walking her infant
son Berin on a downtown street on a sunny autumn day when he was
hit in the neck with a bullet from an automatic rifle, apparently
fired from a Serb-held hill overlooking the city, nurses at
Kosevo hospital said. The baby, which was undergoing surgery, was
one of at least 13 Sarajevans wounded by shelling or sniping.
*3608
Source(s): UNPROFOR; Reuters.
- Casualties :
- At least 13 Sarajevans were wounded by shelling or
sniping. *3609
Source(s): Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR monitors counted 390 shell impacts on the
city. *3610
Serbian military officials reported that Bosnian Serb
troops and the BiH army fought in the industrial suburb of
Vogosca, located north-west of Sarajevo. The officials, quoted by
the SRNA news agency, said that BiH troops triggered the fighting
by shelling factories in the region and then targeting
residential areas in Vogosca. They said that the number of
victims was unclear but that Serb troops had retaliated with a
barrage of gunfire. *3611
(b) International reported events
The European Commission announced that it planned to
allocate an additional 72 million ECU ($85 million) to help
victims in the former Yugoslavia. A Commission spokesman said
that the money was part of a special fund of 89 million ECU that
the European Community had set aside for emergency aid. He added
that since the beginning of the year, the EC had allocated some
314 million ECU in humanitarian aid to the former Yugoslavia.
*3612
26. 26/10/93 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- After months of growing lawlessness
and black market activity, the BiH government began a crackdown
on two of its military commanders (a.k.a. Caco and Celo). After
stand-offs, Celo surrendered, Caco was killed, 18 to 21 others
were reportedly killed, and another 500 individuals were
arrested. In addition to the above stand-off, UNPROFOR reported
checkpoints in the eastern part of the city and restricted UN
movements. Some shelling was reported in the Zuc area. The
airport was on «yellow alert» for a major portion of the day.
Source(s): New York Times; Agence France Presse; Reuters;
UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Late reports said that 18 to 21 people were killed
and more than 500 arrested in the day's government crackdown.
Interior Minister Bakir Alispahic said that 537 members of the
two involved army brigades were detained, but 428 were freed as
«disciplined and loyal soldiers». An Interior Ministry communique
on Wednesday said that 21 people were killed in the incident and
that eight of the dead were civilians «caught in a
crossfire». *3613
Source(s): Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
After months of growing lawlessness and black market
activity, the BiH Government began a crackdown on two reputed
gangsters within its own armed forces, laying siege to their
headquarters. As the Government broadcasted stay-at-home appeals,
government forces and supporters of the two renegade army
commanders, exchanged automatic rifle and mortar fire in crowded
neighbourhoods. Shortly after nightfall, a stand-off between the
two sides appeared to have been broken with the surrender of the
first of the two renegade commanders. Government radio said that
Ramiz Delalic (a.k.a. Celo), one of the two commanders, had
agreed to give himself up. The second man, Musan Topalovic
(a.k.a. Caco), surrendered just before midnight at his
headquarters, the Associated Press reported, quoting a BiH army
commander who spoke on condition of anonymity. Radio Sarajevo
read an official communique stating that the two men had been
dismissed from their posts as commanders of the 9th and 10th
Mountain Brigades. The commands made them responsible for key
sections of the city's defences on Trebevic Mountain. Those
defences appeared to hold despite the day's crackdown, which was
accompanied by intermittent volleys of Serbian artillery and
sniper fire. The communique reportedly acknowledged for the first
time that the BiH forces had been preying on the city's
residents, as well as defending them. It said that the two
commanders «have been involved in organized crime along with
parts of their units», and added that «any resistance» from the
two men would be met with force. By nightfall, the radio said
that 278 of the commanders' men had been arrested and 84 of them
released after questioning. Many of those arrested were said to
have repudiated their commanders and asked for clemency. *3614
Caco was reportedly killed as he tried to flee from a
vehicle after being arrested, deputy military prosecutor Ljubomir
Lukic said. Officials at the morgue said that he was killed by a
single bullet to the neck. Twelve men were also killed in the
operation, Lukic said. Those killed included nine policemen who
had gone to Caco's headquarters to arrest him and were taken
hostage. Several of the policemen had been tortured, Lukic said.
*3615 Three soldiers loyal to Caco were also killed. Caco, was
earlier reported to have killed a number of civilian hostages he
had been holding at his command post. But Lukic stated that no
civilians appeared to have been held at the headquarters, adding
that those reportedly detained were in fact local residents who
had been unable to leave their homes because of shooting around
the command post. *3616
Officials said that the government was provoked into
action after Caco ransacked a funeral home and then seized two
UNPROFOR armoured cars this month, prompting the UN to threaten
to stop humanitarian efforts in the
city. *3617
In addition to the above stand-off, UNPROFOR reported
checkpoints in the eastern part of the city and restricted UN
movements. Some shelling was reported in the Zuc area. The
airport was on «yellow alert» for a major portion of the day.
*3618
(b) Local reported events
Bosnian Muslim leader Fikret Abdic disputed Alija
Izetbegovic's right to be president of BiH. Abdic, who won more
votes than Izetbegovic in the first democratic elections in the
republic, said that he was the legitimate president of BiH
instead of Izetbegovic. «I had stepped down (in 1990) from my
rightful place as the president [of BiH] on my own will, with the
best intentions and desire to avoid internal Moslem clashes»,
Abdic said in an open letter carried by the Croatian and Serbian
media. He said that it was a mistake that Izetbegovic had
campaigned for foreign intervention instead of negotiating with
the enemy to stop the BiH bloodshed, charging the president was
exploiting dead and suffering citizens. «Alija Izetbegovic will
have to answer for bloody profiteering over the bodies of more
than 200,000 dead Moslems», he said. *3619
27. 27/10/93 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR described the city as
«generally unstable» with a low level of shelling.
Source(s):
UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- UNPROFOR noted significant sniper activity in
the city.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR described the city as generally unstable with
a low level of shelling, but with notable sniper activity. The
Mount Igman area was reported as stable. *3620
(b) Local reported events
Officials said that monthly inflation in Serbia and
Montenegro reached a rate of 10.5 per cent daily or 1.9 billion
per cent annually amid UN imposed sanctions. Mirjana Rankovic,
Director of the Yugoslav government's Federal Statistics Bureau,
said the latest figures constituted an all-time record for
inflation, and included an even higher rate of growth in the cost
of living. Rankovic said that the steepest climb in consumer
costs across Serbia and Montenegro was for services, which had
risen in October at a monthly rate of 2,896 per cent. The average
cost of living, which included food, clothing and other living
essentials, had risen in October at a monthly rate of 2,050 per
cent, she said. *3621
28. 28/10/93 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported a high level of
shelling activity in the city. Monitors reported 745 impacts
(mainly tank shells) in the city. There were 163 outgoing rounds.
The shelling had been directed towards the 10th Brigade area with
each side accusing the other of having initiated infantry
attacks. UNPROFOR commented that the reason for the heavy
shelling was unclear. UNPROFOR speculated that the actions of
the 10th Brigade could be attributed to their having just lost
their commander and wishing to demonstrate their continuing
effectiveness. *3622 According to UNPROFOR officer, Major
Idesbald Van Biesenbroeck, more than 140 mortar rounds were fired
by the BiH 10th Brigade at Serb positions on Trebevic. *3623
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Hrasno Brdo Hill of New Sarajevo; central
residential areas and defence lines below Trebevic mountain.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper activity was reported to be high. *3624
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- At least one person was reported killed and 22 others
wounded in morning shelling.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Bosnian Serb forces reportedly shelled parts of the
city centre and western neighbourhoods in a barrage which began
at 6:55 a.m.. *3625 The attack was concentrated around the Hrasno
Brdo hill of New Sarajevo, a district of small houses in the
western part of the city, and in central residential areas and
defence lines just below Serb-held Trebevic mountain. *3626 BiH
defenders replied with mortars in a two-hour battle which left at
least one person dead and 22 wounded. Sarajevo radio said that
Serb forces attempted an infantry breakthrough near the section
of front-line held by forces once led by Musan Topalovic, the
commander of the 10th Mountain Brigade. *3627
(b) Local reported events
At dusk, BiH President Izetbegovic led hundreds of
mourners in a park in the city centre for the burial of six of
the policemen killed on
Tuesday. *3628
Senad Pecar, the BiH army's 10th Brigade Chief of
Staff, was appointed to replace Musan Topalovic (Caco) as
commander, and was reported to be reorganizing his ranks after
the recent government crackdown. *3629
BiH government Foreign Minister Haris Silajdzic sent a
letter to UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali asking him
to immediately lift a suspension on humanitarian aid road convoys
to central BiH. Boutros-Ghali banned UN humanitarian aid convoys
from traveling in the area after a Danish driver was killed and
eight relief activists wounded Monday under crossfire between
Croat forces and BiH government troops near Novi Travnik. *3630
The four month-old boy shot by a sniper on Monday was
reported in good condition. Doctors said that the baby sustained
surface wounds to the neck and chest when he was struck by a
bullet as his mother walked him in his stroller in central
Sarajevo. The boy (Berin Celjo), had to have his left nipple
removed and the left side of his neck patched below his ear. His
mother stated that the shot was preceded by sniper fire from the
direction of Serb-held Trebevic mountain. *3631
Local officials reportedly found the bodies of 30
people whom they said had been «savagely» murdered by Commander
Musan Topalovic (Caco). Graves containing the bodies were found
in a forest south-east of the city, the BiH army press office
said. A statement said the corpses had been burned and were found
in the Gaj forest, a zone under Caco's control. Seventeen of the
bodies unearthed were identified. Most of the names given by the
press office were Serbian. It said that 26 other people living in
the zone had disappeared. «Several dozen people of all
nationalities were savagely killed», the statement said, a
spokesman adding that the killing had taken place in the last few
months. *3632
29. 29/10/93 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sarajevo was reported as mostly
quiet overnight. BiH and Serb forces shelled each other for an
hour during the day.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc hill area.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniping was reported in the city centre. *3633
Source(s): Reuters.
- Casualties :
- A French radio journalist was wounded near the
airport.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
The city, shrouded in a thick autumn fog with
temperatures just above freezing, was described as mostly quiet
overnight. *3634
Bosnian Serb and BiH forces reportedly shelled each
other for more than an hour, with Serb forces targeting
government-controlled Zuc hill districts to the north. *3635
Paul Marchand, a French radio journalist who once
declared to Serbian forces in the city, «Don't waste your
bullets, I am immortal», was shot and wounded near the airport.
The reporter, who never wore a bulletproof vest, was hit while
driving his car south of the city near the airport. French radio
said that he was struck by a .50 calibre machine-gun bullet which
broke his left arm and partially severed his right. *3636
30. 30/10/93 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
(b) Local reported events
31. 31/10/93 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported that the city was
relatively quiet. Monitors recorded 500 shell impacts in the Zuc
area.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Targets Hit :
- Zuc area.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- The airport was closed in the afternoon due to
increased sniping on the tarmac. A French Captain was reported
injured by a bullet to his left arm. Another French soldier was
hit earlier by a bullet, but his helmet saved him from injury.
*3641
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Casualties :
- A French UNPROFOR officer was wounded by sniper fire
at the airport.
Source(s): UNPROFOR.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR reported that the city was relatively quiet.
Monitors recorded 50 shell impacts in the Zuc area. *3642
UNPROFOR also reported that the remaining elements of
the BiH 10th Brigade left their positions in Malo Polje in the
Mount Igman area after negotiations between the UNPROFOR Sector
Sarajevo Commander and the 1st Bosnian Corps Commander. *3643
Relief flights were suspended after a French
peacekeeper was wounded by gunfire that erupted across the
airport. According to UN official Lieutenant Colonel Bill Aikman,
the peacekeeper and others were getting ready to board a routine
flight to Zagreb when the shots were fired. According to Aikman,
«A UN Protection Force flight was loading at 4:15 p.m. when a
hail of bullets hit the area. The airlift has been suspended for
the moment until the situation is clarified». It was not
immediately clear who fired the shots because both troops of the
BiH and Serbian forces held positions along the runway. *3644
(b) International reported events
Reuters reported that NATO was deeply reluctant to use
airstrikes against Serb forces surrounding the city. NATO
Secretary-General Manfred Woerner was reportedly worried that the
alliance's credibility was at stake as a result. «He's furious»,
said an unidentified NATO diplomat. «We promised something. There
are some people here who feel that if we do not keep that promise
when circumstances require it, we risk damaging the alliance
severely». «Unless something cataclysmic happens to Sarajevo or
to an aid convoy, I don' think there's any chance we will do
this», said another NATO diplomat. «There's an agreement on paper
but we don't have the political will, the unity to do it». *3645
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