Airport under fire

SARAJEVO (Reuter) - The United Nations temporarily suspended emergency aid flights to Sarajevo yesterday after unidentified forces sprayed the airport runway with gunfire, wounding a French officer.

A UN spokesman, Lieutenant- Colonel Bill Aikman, said UN personnel loading an Ilyushin-76 cargo plane threw themselves on the tarmac to dodge a hail of bullets but a French captain was hit in the arm.

The UN has begun an investigation into who mounted the attack. The airport is in no man's land between Serbs besieging the city and Muslim-led government forces defending it. 'The shooting today occurred just before dark, so it affected hardly any flights,' Col Aikman said. 'We will look at the situation tomorrow and decide whether to resume.'

Hundreds of civilians fled the Vares area in central Bosnia yesterday after fighting between Muslim and Bosnian Croat forces. The UN said the Muslims made 'significant advances' and captured a Croat-held village.