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Subject: In Bosnia, a Treacherous Trek to Safety; Thousands Dodge Mortars on 40-Mile
Date: Sat, 31 Oct 92 08:47:18 EST
Message-ID: <6.1992Oct31.084718@AmeriCast.com>

In Bosnia, a Treacherous Trek to Safety; Thousands Dodge Mortars
on 40-Mile Walk From Serb-Captured Town<By Peter Maass=Special to
The Washington Post= TRAVNIK, Bosnia, Oct. 30 - Limping and
bleeding, thousands of trapped Muslims and Croats arrived here
today after dodging Serb artillery fire as they fled on foot from
a fallen city that they say is burning behind them.

The first escapees from Jajce, a former Bosnian government
stronghold in central Bosnia-Hercegovina that has cracked under a
brutal Serb siege, began straggling to safety here after crossing
a 40-mile no man's land strewn with bullets and mortars, misery
and terror. U.N. officials here say they are just the first of
30,000 Jajce residents attempting to flee the Serb forces' latest
attempt at "ethnic cleansing."

Caked in mud, many of the Bosnian refugees collapsed in a stupor
of tears and exhaustion as they reached the security of a mili-
tary checkpoint outside Bosnian-held Travnik. They were dazed and
pale, and looked as though they had been fighting a war rather
than fleeing one.  "I don't know how long I have been walking. I
don't know where my wife is," said Radovan Micko, an 80-year-old
Croat whose face was smeared with blood from a welt on his fore-
head. He had stumbled many times on the rugged mountain tracks
from Jajce, and his heavy steps seemed to be in slow motion. "I
used to be a music teacher," he said. "I had to leave my instru-
ments in Jajce. I had a violin that was made in 1907."

Micko left Jajce two days ago when the city began falling to the
Serbs. Like the other survivors, he could not stop to eat or
sleep along the treacherous road, and by the time he reached
safety, all that was left of his life was contained in a mud-
splattered briefcase that he gripped with a blistered hand. His
wife's handbag was draped around one of his stooped shoulders.

Micko's plight is a snapshot of the drama being played out in the
hills of Bosnia tonight as yet another humanitarian nightmare un-
folds in this war-torn region. U.N. relief officials here say
5,000 Muslims and Croats fleeing Jajce are trapped about eight
miles from Travnik, pinned down by Serb mortar and sniper fire.
As many as 30,000 more are winding their way to the bottleneck in
a miles-long escape column.

The Jajce refugees said that for two days they dodged bullets and
mortar shells from Serb gunners in the hills surrounding their
escape route. The gunfire forced the refugees to dive to the
ground, hide in the bushes or simply run for their lives.

The exodus comes at the end of another successful Serb siege that
relied on constant shelling of civilian targets from impregnable
hillside positions. The refugees said they had lived for the past
several months in bomb shelters, venturing outside only for food.
Often, however, they did not eat because going into the open was
too dangerous.

The conquest of Jajce is another example of the violent, two-
sided policy pursued by the Bosnian Serb leadership. At the peace
conference on Bosnia held in London in August, Bosnian Serb
leader Radovan Karadzic promised, in writing, to silence the guns
around four besieged cities, including Jajce. That promise has
not been honored.

The capture of Jajce, which had a pre-siege population of 20,000,
is of major importance to the Serbs because they now control its
hydroelectric dam, giving them a crucial power supply for their
conquered territory. Jajce also carries symbolic importance: It
is the place where, during World War II, the federation of Yugos-
lavia was proclaimed by its Communist founders.  Helena Svirac
was not thinking of history as she finished her 48-hour trek to-
day. She is just 27 years old, but the journey was hard on her
because she is seven months pregnant.

"Jajce is burning," she whispered, slouching next to her mother
and brother. "We were running away and crying and trying to stay
together. Everyone had only one bag apiece, but even that was too
much for some people. They had to leave it along the road."

Ibrahim Berber, 57, hobbled to the military checkpoint about mid-
day. A tired young girl was perched on his shoulders.

"I left Jajce two nights ago at 1 a.m.," he said.  "I walked all
day and night carrying this child. It is her second birthday to-
day. She is my son's child. My son was killed on Sunday." He
broke into tears.

The final stretch of no man's land passes through an attractive
village called Turbe, winding past its mosque and then following
a line of plum trees. The thud of Serb howitzers echoes through
the surrounding hillsides, which are aflame with golden autumn
colors.

 The sad influx of Croats and Muslims includes militiamen with
their heads hung low. Many of them are bandaged, with blood seep-
ing through the soiled rags binding their hands, legs or head.

Soldiers and civilians alike are sharing similar feelings of be-
trayal - by their generals, by their political leaders and by the
outside world, which they say has not intervened to stop the
Serbs from continuing their war of aggression in Bosnia. The
Jajce survivors say they have lost hope.

"All these United Nations people just drive around in their nice
cars and watch, without doing anything," said Robert Mesic, a
soldier. "Please tell the world that if it won't do anything for
us, then just leave us alone and let us die in peace."<02:08 10-
31C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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