BOSNIA: ITALIAN PEACEKEEPERS CONFRONTATION WITH RADOVAN KARADZIC

(21 Feb 1996) English/Nat Italian army officials have denied their peacekeepers turned around and drove away after being confronted by Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic's bodyguards. Some reports suggested the heavily-armed Italian forces were trying to arrest Karadzic, who has been indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Earlier in the day, Karadzic blamed the international community for a planned mass exodus of Bosnian Serbs from suburbs around Sarajevo. Whatever their aim, the Italian peacekeepers were on a high-profile mission on Wednesday. They could be seen on the outskirts of the snow-covered Bosnian Serb stronghold of Pale, checking identification at a series of roadblocks. At the time, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was inside the presidency building. He was in Pale for a meeting of the Bosnian Serb parliament which had been switched to the building at the last minute by security guards who feared Karadzic might be captured. While he was attending the meeting, two jeeps carrying armed Italian troops pulled up and tried to enter the building's parking lot. Reports suggest the peacekeepers had gone to the building to arrest Karadzic, who has been indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal. They added the Italians were apparently turned back by dozens of Karadzic's personal security guards and were forced to turn around and leave. However, an Italian spokesman denied his troops were forced to beat a retreat but said they just turned their vehicles around and returned to Sarajevo after a routine trip. The confrontation came after an attempted evacuation of Bosnian Serbs civilians from Pale had to be postponed due to bad weather. Trucks lined the road to Pale, stranded by the blizzards which have engulfed the area. Their aim was to evacuate civilians fearing discrimination under Bosnian government rule. In Pale, Karadzic accused the international community of failing to provide the guarantees necessary to persuade the Serbs in Sarajevo to stay. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Our wish was to have them stay in Sarajevo, and we have done everything to persuade them to stay in Sarajevo. However, they do not feel safe and secure and for those who want to leave we are obliged to facilitate it." SUPER CAPTION: Radovan Karadzic, Bosnian Serb leader He claimed that under the Dayton peace agreement, Croats and Muslims receive preferential treatment over the Bosnian Serbs. SOUNDBITE: (English) "The international community should be quite clear about one thing: we want Serbs in Sarajevo to stay. But the international community did not give them enough guarantees, did not give them the right to have their own authority, their own police." SUPER CAPTION: Radovan Karadzic, Bosnian Serb leader U-N relief officials say around 20-thousand Serbs have so far fled Sarajevo and its suburbs since the peace agreement came into effect. They estimate around 50-thousand remain, though how many will stay remains to be seen. If it goes ahead, the mass evacuation of Serb from Sarajevo would be one of the final chapters in the transfers of populations that have been the hallmark of Bosnia's war. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...