(11 Aug 1996) English/Nat
Croats have prevented a group of about 1-thousand Muslims from visiting a graveyard in a Croat controlled town west of Tuzla in Bosnia.
Scuffles broke out during an angry confrontation near Maglaj on Saturday.
In a reminder of lingering enmity between Croats and Muslims, some 1,000 Muslims were blocked from travelling along a road by Croats.
The Muslims tried to visit a graveyard in the Bosnian Croat-controlled town of Novi Seher, 70 kilometres (44 miles) west of Tuzla.
But their way was blocked by Croats.
The Muslims were travelling to celebrate a religious festival and visit grave sites in the area.
Problems arose when the group, led by Bosnia's senior Muslim cleric, Rais-l-Ulema Mustafa Ceric, were prevented from travelling.
Several people were slightly injured in the scuffles and a few buses were damaged.
Bosnian government-run radio reported the confrontation, saying helicopters of the NATO-led peace force were flying over the area and that Muslims were still being blocked on their way back to the town of Maglaj.
U-N police and troops from NATO-led peace force in Bosnia were called in.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
And then I heard about all the buses that were stopped and people were denied to continue the ceremony they had planned.
SUPER CAPTION: Commander Jan Bergstrom, Nordic Brigadier
Bosnian government radio also said several thousand Muslims retaliated by blocking the main highway between Muslim-controlled Zenica and Croat-controlled Zepce.
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