SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - The boom of heavy artillery shook Sarajevo on Thursday after months of relative calm, and residents of two besieged northern enclaves faced deepening hardship when aid convoys were canceled.
Two refugees were killed and four children were injured Thursday near Bugojno, about 50 miles northwest of Sarajevo, while traveling in overcrowded trucks from western Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnian radio reported.They were among several hundred Muslims driven out by a Croatian "ethnic cleansing" campaign, the broadcast said.
U.N. military observers, meanwhile, registered 94 incoming mortar and artillery rounds Wednesday, including fire on Zuc mountain, the eastern Vasin Han district and the downtown area, said the U.N. spokesman in Sarajevo, Bill Aikman.
Asked whether the surge in fighting in the Bosnian capital was the prelude to a major Serb attack, Aikman said he did not know.
"We are at risk here," he added. "Tensions are rising and shelling has increased."
Sarajevo radio reported Thursday that the city had been under artillery attack from Serb forces since early morning and warned residents not to leave their homes.
Sniper fire also worsened in and around the Bosnian capital, targeting four U.N. vehicles in 36 hours and wounding an Egyptian soldier in the shoulder, Aikman told reporters.
Much of the fighting early Thursday started after Muslim-led government forces leveled mortar fire on the Serb-held northern suburb of Vogosca and "the Serbs decided to fire back with everything they've got," Aikman said.