April 20, 1999
Web posted at: 1:50 p.m. EDT (1750 GMT)

ZAGREB, Croatia (CNN) -- Some 200-300 Yugoslav soldiers crossed into a United Nations-controlled demilitarized zone on Croatia's border with the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, the Croatian Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

Croatia complained to the U.N. Security Council that the soldiers of the Yugoslav Army were blocking traffic at the border in violation of an agreement between Croatia and Yugoslavia.

"In this particular situation the blocking of traffic through the border-crossing point (at) Debeli Brijeg may present a heavy blow to ongoing international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the displaced population of Kosovo," said Ivan Simonovic, Croatia's permanent representative to the United Nations, in a letter to Security Council President Alain Dejammet.

Croatia has called for the troops to withdraw.

Simonovic said the area is technically in Montenegro and is administered by the United Nations under a 1992 agreement between Yugoslavia and Croatia.

A U.N. officer at the mission told Reuters that the situation was very "delicate, sensitive, extremely tense," but could not confirm the presence of Serb troops inside the demilitarized zone.

"To the best of my knowledge the border is still open," he said.

The Yugoslav federal government has criticized the government of Montenegro for keeping open its border crossing with Croatia.

The area is on the Prevlaka Peninsula south of Dubrovnik, Croatia. A U.N. mission on the peninsula -- a sliver of land along the Adriatic at the southernmost tip of Croatia bordering both Bosnia and Montenegro -- has 28 military observers. It was opened in January 1996.

Croatia and Yugoslavia had agreed to settle differences about the Prevlaka area through negotiations, but the only progress since the agreement in 1996 has been the opening of the border crossing to civilians. Westerners entering Montenegro at the point do not need visas as they do crossing into the Serbian republic.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.