Cease-fire on hold in Bosnia

October 9, 1995
Web posted at: 8:40 p.m. EDT (0040 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bosnian cease-fire, scheduled to begin at one minute past midnight on Tuesday, has been delayed. Just hours before the scheduled start of the cease- fire, officials announced that the Bosnian government is not satisfied with progress toward restoring utility service in Sarajevo, a condition of the cease-fire agreement.

"Gas supplies have not been restored to the city of Sarajevo," said Antonio Pedauye, head of the U.N. mission in Bosnia. "It was clear to the Bosnian government that the necessary preconditions for the commencement of the cease- fire have not been met."

Pedauye urged all sides to use caution and remain calm, but at least one Bosnian official blamed Russia for the delay.

Bosnians, Serbs and the U.N., said Haris Muratovic, Bosnia's minister for relations with the United Nations, "did their best to fulfill conditions. Unfortunately, we cannot say that Russia did what it was obliged to do."

The Russian government, however, reportedly told the United States, that it had turned on the natural gas supply to Sarajevo.

An administration official in Washington told CNN that Bosnian Croats, Bosnian Serbs and the Bosnian government will meet on Tuesday to determine the next step.

The announcement about the cease-fire's delay came just hours after NATO air strikes pummeled a Bosnian Serb command and control bunker near Tuzla. NATO sources said six U.S. F-16s dropped 10 laser-guided bombs and fired four rockets Monday. The command center was reported destroyed.

The air strike came after a request for protective air raids from the U.N. commander in Sarajevo, following renewed shelling Sunday that threatened U.N. troops in the region. One U.N. peacekeeper was killed when shells landed close to the Tuzla air base in north Bosnia. (85K AIFF sound or 85K WAV sound)

NATO launched an air mission Sunday after shelling killed civilians in a Muslim refugee camp near Tuzla, but inclement weather forced the mission back to the ground.

Cease-fire on hold in Bosnia

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