The Corridors of Death

The Krajina corps of the army of the Serbian Republic of B&H took over Operation "Corridor" in mid-July, assisted by the Serbian units in northern Bosnia. Serbian sources say these forces took control of Odzak and Gradacac last week and made a breakthrough to the Sava river, at Novi Grad near Odzak.

In the past month the Serbian forces took Derventa and Modrica and also some small towns and villages in that area. The Croatian media admitted to the loss of some smaller strongholds, but not to the towns the Serbs are already speaking of as "liberated".

Until a month ago, Modrica, Derventa, Gradacac, Odzak, Garevac and Modran were under the control of the Croatian-Moslem forces which drove the Serbs back to Bosanska Krajina and to the villages. These forces took over the initiative on the front thanks to strong Croatian armed forced which crossed the Sava into northern Bosnia in April, May and June.

The Serbian authorities in the Bosnian and Kninska Krajina realized that with the advancement of Croatian-Moslem forces in northern Bosnia all lines between the territories under Serbian control and the FR of Yugoslavia have been broken. Any kind of aid arriving by air is out of the question, so a corridor through northern Bosnia has become a priority to the survival of the Krajinas.

The goal of the Serbian forces is, evidently, drawing borders in the north, along the Sava and south to the Doboj environs which is also under Serbian control. This would ensure a safe corridor between the Krajinas of the FRY.

The fighting in the Gorazde region can best be described as a merciless war for "ethnically pure territories". The fighting in this town has been going on for the past seventy days, as it is the last stronghold of the Moslem forces in the upper course of the Drina.

Ever since April, the Serbian side has been claiming that, after the fall of Foca and Visegrad, it is holding Gorazde surrounded. However, last Tuesday the command of the Serbian army accused the Moslem forces of holding Gorazde surrounded and of burning Serbian villages and killing Serbs in the vicinity of the town.

According to Moslem sources, there are about 100,000 people in Gorazde, mostly refugees from the towns and villages in the neighborhood. According to Serbian sources, the Serbs have already broken through to some parts of the town.

The Sarajevo media is obvious in its attempt to try and use Gorazde to secure international support for a military intervention against the Serbs. Gorazde is being compared to Vukovar, and Moslem sources claim that Serbian forces are receiving reinforcements from Serbia and Montenegro.

Serbs inhabit a large area west and north of Gorazde whose center is Pale. In the north-east is Visegrad and south are Cajnice and Foca. All these towns are controlled by the Serbian forces.

Almost every town mentioned here has been reduced to rubble. It is impossible to determine the number of dead and wounded civilians and soldiers in this operation. It seems that Modrica has suffered the most - it changed hands more than once - and during that time was bombed by planes, heavy artillery and every kind of infantry weapon. If the fighting continues the fate of Gorazde will be even worse.