Serbs, Croats and Yugoslav Troops in Tense Standoff Despite Peace Appeal
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia — Government troops, Croatian security forces and Serbian fighters were locked in a tense standoff in Croatia on Sunday despite an appeal for peace by Yugoslav leaders.
Army units reinforced positions on approach roads leading to Okucani, a Serbian-populated town that saw fierce fighting Saturday in which several people were reported killed.
Croatia said its forces, which controlled much of the area around the town of 5,000 people, would repel any attack.
“I want to say clearly and loudly: I am not going to give up Okucani,” Croatian Interior Minister Ivan Vekic said on Zagreb television in a warning to both the army and the Serbs.
Federal army tanks had crossed into Croatia from Bosnia on pontoon bridges over the Sava River and moved from Stara Gradiska toward Okucani, 10 miles away.
In another part of Croatia, the commander in the Serb stronghold of Krajina gave Croatian police at Kijevo a 48-hour deadline to pull out or face “total devastation,” Tanjug news agency reported.
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