1 A U.N. aid convoy arrived Thursday to the besieged northwestern enclave of Bihac, easing but not ending chronic food shortages in the region.
2 U.N. officials in the pocket said the convoy arrived in the mid-afternoon after securing permission from rebel Serbs from nearby Croatia and renegade Muslims who have been fighting government troops in the region. There were no immediate details.
3 In the capital Sarajevo, U.N. officials warned that new trenches on the city's confrontation lines could jeopardize what progress has been made to improve life for civilians.
4 And in eastern Bosnia, Serbs reportedly were deploying heavy weapons on the edge of the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica, possibly preparing for new combat.
5 As has happened time and again in Bosnia's 34-month war, U.N. efforts to ease the conflict and feed civilians have made small steps forward, only to be met with frustrations.
6 Fighting in the Bihac area has posed a particularly vexing obstacle to efforts to anchor a 1-month-old truce U.N. officials hope could lead to resumed peace talks.
7 Rebel Serbs from neighboring Croatia and renegade Muslims controlling the northern corner of the pocket are not party to the truce, and have continued to fight government forces. Tens of thousands of civilians in the area depend on international aid.
8 Two convoys for the region recently were turned back. But Alemka Lisinski, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said the agency had promises from both Croatian Serbs and the rebel Muslims to let the convoy pass.
9 Two of the trucks were destined for Velika Kladusa, stronghold of rebel Muslim leader Fikret Abdic. Abdic has refused to let previous convoys through unless he gets 50 percent for his supporters. UNHCR is willing to give him only 20 percent.
10 In Sarajevo, U.N. officials reported a few detonations and 178 firing incidents, particularly along the city's western confrontation line near the airport.
11 U.N. spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Coward said government defenders were digging trenches close to Serb lines between government-controlled Butmir and Serb-controlled Ilidza. He warned that 'could destabilize the local situation if it continues further.'
12 He warned that it also could put in danger two civilian routes across the airport that opened this week. One connects Sarajevo with the government-held suburbs of Butmir and Hrasnica, allowing civilians to buy cheaper supplies outside the city. The other connects Ilidza and another Serb-held suburb.
13 Around Srebrenica, like Bihac and Sarajevo, a U.N.-declared 'safe area,' the situation was reported tense. U.N. spokemsan Paul Risley said Bosnian Serbs had deployed some four howitzers and a mortar near the confrontation line over the past seven days.
14 'We are concerned that a deployment of additional (Serb) . heavy weapns, may signal an intention . to increase activity in the area,' Risley said.
15 Bosnian Serbs hold 70 percent of Bosnia. Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who backed the Serb rebellion in Bosnia, has announced he has cut ties with his former proteges.
16 In neighboring Croatia, tensions escalated Wednesday with a decision by rebel Serbs to freeze economic talks with the Croatian government because of its decision to kick out 12,000 U.N. peacekeepers. U.N. spokesman Michael Williams expressed regret at the Croatian Serb decision.
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In the capital Sarajevo , U . N . officials warned that new trenches on the city ' s confrontation lines could jeopardize what progress has been made to improve life for civilians .
progress has been made
What types of progress had taken place?