Bosnian Serbs blocked U.N. peacekeepers and a 51-vehicle convoy from heading to Gorazde for the third straight day Wednesday despite a promise to let the convoy through.
The standoff was the latest in a long series of clashes over Gorazde, a Muslim enclave in eastern Bosnia that suffered dearly under an intense three-week assault last month.The Bosnian Serbs halted their relentless shelling of the city only after NATO threatened airstrikes. The Bosnian government, however, says Serb soldiers and weapons remain in the enclave 35 miles southeast of Sarajevo in violation of the NATO ultimatum.
Since Sunday, Serb troops have stalled the U.N. convoy, which includes 160 British peacekeepers, at Rogatica, about 25 miles to the north.
In a move seen time and time again in the 2-year war, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic promised to free the convoy Tuesday after speaking with the United Nations' top civilian official, Yasushi Akashi.
But the convoy remained blocked Wednesday while Serbs demanded the peacekeepers turn over cameras and 26,000 rounds of ammunition supposedly not listed on the convoy's manifesto.