Three British soldiers killed in Bosnia crash

THREE British UN soldiers were killed and five injured in the Bosnian Muslim enclave of Gorazde yesterday when their armoured vehicle rolled down a hill. The accident is the worst single blow suffered by British UN forces in Bosnia since they arrived in October 1992, and brings the number of British soldiers killed there to 12.

The Saxon wheeled personnel carrier of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment went off the road about two miles north-west of the centre of Gorazde. Army sources said no other vehicles were involved.

A soldier from the same regiment was killed in Gorazde on Friday and four were injured when the road collapsed under another Saxon vehicle. About 400 British troops are in the Gorazde enclave.

Yesterday's tragedy coincided with a meeting between the Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, and the Chief of the Defence Staff, Field Marshal Sir Peter Inge, to discuss plans for withdrawal from Bosnia if the UN gives in to US pressure to lift the arms embargo against the Bosnian Muslims.

President Bill Clinton is expected to move to end the embargo unless the Bosnian Serbs accept a peace plan by 15 October. But despite fears of the bloody withdrawal that could ensue, Britain will do no more than abstain in any Security Council vote.

Letters, page 11