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The Register-HeraldBy George EsperAP SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTWORLD A NATIONAP photoCHECKPOINT CHARLIE,Bosnia-Herzegovina - By thebusload they came, across America’s Checkpoint Charlie, back home into the arms of their loved ones.For 211 Muslim men, most of them soldiers, the war ended Wednesday when they crossed into Bosnian government territory at this checkpoint after being held for eight months in detention camps in Serbia.But the reunion was marred at the last minute when officials in Serbia took away 13 Muslim men as they boarded the buses, drawing an angry protest from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.The refugee convoy was the first since the Dayton peace accord to pass through Bosnian Serb territory. It was also seen as an important step towards resettling Bosnians in their hometowns, which officials say is a necessary condition for peace to take hold in the region.Five buses rolled about 75 miles from Serbia through the Serb half of Bosnia and to this checkpoint in the neutral zone, watched over by 25 American soldiers. They arrived in Muslim-controlled towns just before noon.Two American helicopters secured the way for the refugees, flying over mountains and valleys dotted by roofless homes destroyed in the war.Less than a mile from Checkpoint Charlie, named for the Charlie platoon that operates it, the big buses were unable toFREE AT LAST: Above: An unidentified Bosnian Army soldier, center, greets a friend, right, who was freed from detention in Serb territory shortly after his arrival at Checkpoint Charlie Wednesday. Right: Staff Sgt.
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Beckley Evening Post
Beckley, West Virginia, US
Thu, Apr 11, 1996
Page 21
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