CNN Mission: Peace

Serb exodus

NATO plans to boost forces in Serb suburbs

March 5, 1996
Web Posted at: 11 p.m. EST (0400 GMT)

From Correspondent Jackie Shymanski and wire reports

HADZICI, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- NATO plans to augment its forces in Bosnian Serb suburbs to help stop Serbs from wreaking havoc as they flee, an alliance spokesperson said Tuesday.

The handover of Serb districts to the Muslim-Croat federation is mandated under the U.S.-brokered peace plan. The process began last month and is due to be completed by March 19.

Fearing reprisals for the 3 1/2-year Serb siege of government-held sectors of Sarajevo, tens of thousands of Serbs have been departing over the past few weeks.

Embittered by a peace plan that forces them to live under a Muslim-Croat Federation, the Bosnian Serbs have tried to leave little of value behind -- stripping houses of window frames, wiring and plumbing, torching some buildings and destroying several utility installations.

NATO too late for some areas

While NATO's decision to bolster troops in Serb neighborhoods comes too late for suburbs that have already been transferred to the federation, it may not even help suburbs that are about to be handed over.

Take, for instance, Hadzici. In less than 24 hours, it will be Bosnian territory -- what's left of it, that is.

Hadzici is without electricity, water or gas for heating, said Kris Janowski, spokesperson for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

NATO spokesman Maj. Thomas Moyer said "something happened" to Hadzici's power station, but could not say if it had been sabotaged by the Serbs.

Stealing

He said NATO is guarding some critical utilities but will increase patrols and protection of telecommunications and other services. "We are trying to increase our presence as a deterrent," he said.

Despite the boost in security, the suburb bears the brunt of Serb anger.

At the local Coca-Cola factory, unabashed looting goes unchecked. Children stuff cars with straws and pictures, and parents fill trailers with anything of value.

Nearby, a military repair center is systematically emptied. It used to be one of the biggest in Bosnia.

'God knows what happened'

Samokovic

The Samokovic family was finishing its frantic packing. Everything must go, from kitchen cupboards to the basics of the building they've lived in all their lives. They don't believe in the Dayton dream of all factions living together again.

"We used to get along very well with each other before the war," said Stojan Samokovic. "But God knows what happened."

The civilian peace brokers haven't calmed the fears of Serbs choosing to leave Hadzici. And only a moral authority is offered by international troops, whose mandate is strictly military.

Currently, the only international force doing any police work in Bosnia is a U.N. police that monitors Muslim and Croat police.

Burning

But U.N. police spokesman Alexander Ivanko said their hands are tied in certain situations. The Dayton accord, he said, obliges the peacekeeping forces to protect property but does not permit them to act against looting. "We can only monitor incidents like looting," he said.

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