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Serbs in Eastern Slavonia Hand Over their Weapons
ZAGREB, June 5 (Reuters) - Serbs in the last Croatian enclave still under their control began handing over weapons to United Nations forces on Wednesday under a demilitarisation plan for the area, Croatian radio said. The radio quoted Philip Arnold, spokesman for the U.N. transitional administration for Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES), as saying that the commander of Serb forces in Eastern Slavonia, General Dusan Loncar issued orders for demobilisation to begin. The radio said between 3,000 and 5,000 Serb troops would be released from the rebel Serb army.
Serb rebels seized oil-rich Eastern Slavonia in a 1991 rebellion against Croatia's move to independence from federal Yugoslavia. Croatian forces recaptured two other rebel regions last year, and were poised to attack Eastern Slavonia when the Serbs and Croats agreed under U.S. pressure to accept a plan for peaceful reintegration within two years.
Arnold also said the Serbs were supposed to hand over their small arms and ammunition to UNTAES by June 20. Unregistered weapons are due to be collected and destroyed by June 21. About 80 per cent of heavy weapons have already been handed in and transported to Serbian-led Yugoslavia, the radio said.
Arnold also said the UNTAES Belgian batallion in Baranja had taken over control of all border crossings to neighbouring Hungary. Other UNTAES forces are situated along the border zone between the Republic of Croatia and Yugoslavia. UNTEAS, with 5,000 enforcement troops, took charge of Eastern Slavonia in January in a move that staved off Croatian military action which could have unhinged the new peace in neigbouring Bosnia.
Once demilitarisation is complete, Croats expelled by Serb militants in 1991 are to be resettled in their former homes and Croatian government institutions gradually restored. Last month U.S. pressure forced the Croatian authorities to pass an amnesty law for all Serbs living in Eastern Slavonia and who joined the uprising, apart from those indicted for war crimes. |
Berserkistan, May 24 · UN Troops Under Fire in Eastern Slavonia
Berserkistan’s Bosnia Journal: Red Sky at Night In Eastern Slavonia, Waiting for the Serbs to Go Home
Berserkistan, May 21 · Serbs Demilitarizing Eastern Slavonia
Berserkistan, May 7 · Team Berserkistan First Across Yugoslav Confrontation Line
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