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TIME: Almanac 1993
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TIME Almanac 1993.iso
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0831995.000
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1993-04-08
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THE WEEK, Page 16WORLDCan Bosnia Be Fixed With a Hammer?
Military force may be used. But how -- and how much -- is
undecided.
Although the U.N. Security Council has approved the use of
force to protect aid shipments to Bosnia-Herzegovina, no one has
yet figured out precisely how to do it. U.N. forces in Sarajevo
are caught in the middle -- a Ukrainian soldier was killed by a
sniper last week -- and the major powers are reluctant to let
their troops get involved.
When a British Hercules transport plane heading away from
Sarajevo was tracked by ground-based radar, U.N. peacekeepers
on the ground responded by closing the airport. It reopened two
days later but closed briefly on Saturday after mortar fire hit
the U.N. headquarters.
Bosnian and Serb leaders also signed an agreement to place
the artillery of both sides under U.N. supervision to pinpoint
who is responsible for shelling civilian areas. General Satish
Nambiar of India, who was heading the U.N. forces, publicly
doubted that his 1,500-man contingent was large enough to
monitor the long-range weapons. In any case, the agreement did
not take effect, and Sarajevo continued to suffer nighttime
bombardment from the surrounding hills.
In Brussels the NATO allies are still debating their role
in case force must be used to deliver aid to Bosnia. NATO
military experts had proposed using 100,000 troops to guard a
land corridor from Split to Sarajevo, but that idea was rejected
two weeks ago. France, Britain and Italy have said they are
ready to contribute forces of around 2,000 soldiers each, and
NATO is now considering using a total of 10,000 troops, not to
hold open a corridor but to convoy road shipments to Sarajevo.
The U.S. says it is willing to contribute air units but no
ground forces.