Can Bosnia Be Fixed With a Hammer?

Although the U.N. Security Council has approved the use of force to protect aid shipments to Bosnia-Herzegovina, no one has yet figured out precisely how to do it. U.N. forces in Sarajevo are caught in the middle -- a Ukrainian soldier was killed by a sniper last week -- and the major powers are reluctant to let their troops get involved.

When a British Hercules transport plane heading away from Sarajevo was tracked by ground-based radar, U.N. peacekeepers on the ground responded by closing the airport. It reopened two days later but closed briefly on Saturday after mortar fire hit the U.N. headquarters.

Bosnian and Serb leaders also signed an agreement to place the artillery of both sides under U.N. supervision to pinpoint who is responsible for shelling civilian areas. General Satish Nambiar of India, who was heading the U.N. forces, publicly doubted that his 1,500-man contingent was large enough to monitor the long-range weapons. In any case, the agreement did not take effect, and Sarajevo continued to suffer nighttime bombardment from the surrounding hills.

In Brussels the NATO allies are still debating their role in case force must be used to deliver aid to Bosnia. NATO military experts had proposed using 100,000 troops to guard a land corridor from Split to Sarajevo, but that idea was rejected two weeks ago. France, Britain and Italy have said they are ready to contribute forces of around 2,000 soldiers each, and NATO is now considering using a total of 10,000 troops, not to hold open a corridor but to convoy road shipments to Sarajevo. The U.S. says it is willing to contribute air units but no ground forces. (See related story on page 48.)