BOSNIA: SARAJEVO: SNIPER SCREENS ERECTED

(10 Jun 1995) French/Nat

The authorities in Sarajevo have installed protective screens throughout the centre of the Bosnian capital in response to the recent increase in Bosnian Serb sniper attacks.

UN armoured vehicles have also been deployed on the main intersections to ensure the safety of pedestrians crossing the streets.

At least 10 civilians were killed or wounded by snipers in Sarajevo in the last two weeks.

These tent-like banners erected on the streets of Sarajevo aren't merely decorative - they could make all the difference between life and death.

A volley of Bosnian Serb sniper fire these last two weeks has left a number of dead and wounded civilians.

And the authorities have had to install "protective screens" once again - a flimsy yet effective cover from enemy snipers.

The "sniper screens" were widely used on the streets of Sarajevo until March last year.
They were removed after the United Nations said it would call on NATO air support if civilians were targeted.

The screens, combined with what cover can be provided by the United Nations' armoured vehicles, allow the besieged people of the city to fetch water with some small sense of protection.

Meanwhile, a force of 60 French United Nations peacekeepers have dug into position on Mount Igman, which overlooks Sarajevo and has been used during the war to launch artillery attacks on the city.

They've vowed their large mortars will be used should they come under attack.

It's a further show of strength by the United Nations, embarrassed and angered by the seizing of many of their number by the Bosnian Serbs as hostages.

SOUNDBITE: (In French)
The regiment that you see here did in fact come to reinforce the battalion, indeed is an integral part of the batallion. It is in a way our force of dissuasion, and most certainly our means of retaliation
SUPER CAPTION: Lieut. Colonel Jean Carpentier, French Army

Both France and Britain have been moving extra troops into the former Yugoslavia, forming a formidable Rapid Reaction Force.

On Saturday, the French soldiers refused to be drawn on whether or not they were part of that new force, and what their wider orders included.

SOUNDBITE: (In French)
This (Force) looks like the beginning, the first advance parties of the rapid reaction force. ?
I cannot answer that, I don't know. It is a reinforcement of UNPROFOR in Sarajevo.
SUPER CAPTION:Lieut. Mariel, French Army

The UN has proved relatively powerless to counter the ongoing aggression between Bosnian Serbs and Muslims.

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