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Muslims Dig in at Dugi Dio, Village Belonging to Serbs
‘We observed what was described as possible covert fortifications and preparations for combat’
"We observed what was described as possible covert fortifications and preparations for combat," Ivanko told a news
conference in Sarajevo. "There was vegetation removed to give clear line of fire, wrecked vehicles moved into strategic positions as barricades for firing points, windows in buildings bricked up except for small holes," he said. "About 250 men of fighting age were observed in the village, roughly twice the number usually seen there."
Dugi Dio lay on the Serb side of front lines during the 1992-95 war and its overwhelmingly Muslim population fled to safety in Bosnian government territory nearby. The village, caught in crossfire, remained largely vacant through the war and the Serbs have not been present since. But the Inter-Ethnic Boundary Line Commission ruled early this year that Dugi Dio should formally be part of the Serb-controlled postwar entity in Bosnia.
"The transfer of authority was supposed to be at the end of March but we understand Serb police have refrained from going in there. De facto, the Serbs are not exercising any authority. IPTF is sort of filling the gap,'' Ivanko said. Five houses were blown up in the village by unknown assailants in April and tensions were bound to rise with the influx of Muslim men of fighting age.
"There are a lot of young men in the village who refuse to show their identity cards when asked by IPTF, and now we have seen covert fortification too," Ivanko said.
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