December 25, 1995
Web posted at: 2:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT)
From Correspondent Jim Clancy
NORTHERN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA (CNN) -- The front lines are clearly marked, but no map can furnish a complete picture of the hazards NATO troops may face as they approach them during the widening deployment in Bosnia.
Just getting there has been a challenge. Bosnia's rugged
mountains offer a harsh welcome to outsiders, lashing them
with cold winds and snow. They are the same rocky peaks that
served as a fortress for Yugoslav partisans during World War
II.
So far, however, terrain and weather have been the worst part of the handover. The level of cooperation NATO troops have met with from the former warring parties has been a bit of a surprise.
British troops have assumed command of strategic frontline positions, paired with Bosnian Croat forces in the north and Bosnian Serbs in others.
Near Sanksi Most, a Serb soldier says that he believes this is the end of the war and the beginning of a new peace. "We're glad," a Bosnian Croat officer said on the front line south of Banja Luka. "We will go back to our barracks. We think the war is over."
For the troops, the arrival of British NATO forces gives them
the chance to get home in time for Christmas. The Croats
were ready with a gift for the arriving IFOR (Implementation
Force) troops and welcomed them into one of their frontline
bunkers for a cup of tea.
NATO troops hope the welcome is a sign of things to come. "They're a bit tired now and hopefully they'll help us out a little bit and things will calm down," a British soldier said. "That will be our job, and we will be able to get back home." (111K AIFF sound or 111K WAV sound)
Both Bosnian Serbs and Croats have helped the peacekeepers by
pointing out obvious hazards, the lime mine fields that lie
along front lines. The deadly devices do not obey cease
fires and already have accounted for injuries to two NATO
soldiers.
Despite the risks, soldiers say that they are optimistic about the mission and the changeover to NATO control. "I think it has gone extremely well at the moment," said one soldier familiar with the United Nations' former role in the area.. "I feel a lot better now that I know we can do something to help the country out rather than sitting back and watching things going on around us, that we've not been able to intervene in." (128K AIFF sound or 128K WAV sound)
Serbs, Muslims, and Croats express a willingness to pull back
their forces. Some of the heavy weaponry is already
sheltered off of the confrontation lines, in barns and
warehouses. They will have to remain there if the mission in
Bosnia is to succeed.
Copyright © 1995 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive