January 20, 1996
Web posted at: 6:15 p.m. EST (2315 GMT)
From Correspondent Jackie Shymanski
GORNJI VAKUF, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- After a month of official peace in Bosnia, officials are reporting mixed results. Military goals established by the peace accord are being met, but reaching civilian goals has proved more difficult.
Operation Joint Endeavor sailed over its first hurdle, the separation of forces along Bosnia confrontation lines.
IFOR Commander Gen. Michael Jackson said members of IFOR have "a general feeling of quiet satisfaction and encouragement by what has been achieved so far."
In central Bosnia, the British contingent is enforcing the Dayton peace accord. Their patrols are a testament to the success of the peace. Front lines are deserted.
One month into the mission, it is the civilian side that's proving to be a worry. Deadlines for releasing prisoners have not been met. The fears of an embittered population have not been eased.
Families in Banja Luka are worried. They wait for word on their Serb sons and fathers still held as prisoners of war.
"I heard my husband might be alive but there's been nothing official," said one woman anxious for news about her family.
International Red Cross officials waited hours in a central Bosnian no-mans-land for the expected prisoner release. Hundreds were to be freed. Instead, a solitary Croat soldier was released by the Bosnian Serbs. Others were freed in Sarajevo, but the numbers do not add up to the promises made by the warring sides.
Another worry: the upcoming transfer of land. An international police force to protect civilians during and after the transfer has yet to arrive. For now, it's ethnicity that controls the law of the land.
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