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FOCUS - 1 of 4 DOCUMENTS Copyright 1995 Agence France Presse Agence France Presse -- English March 06, 1995 08:09 Eastern Time SECTION: International news LENGTH: 667 words HEADLINE: Croatian Serbs dig in ahead of feared Croatian attack BYLINE: Victoria Stegic DATELINE: KNIN, Croatia, March 6 BODY: Rebel Croatian Serbs in the Krajina region are digging trenches and planting mines, fearing an attack by government forces but determined nonetheless to fight to the death for their independence. "The Serbs are consolidating their positions," reported Colonel Zdislaw Goral of Poland, whose UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) troops are deployed in Slunj, 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of the Croatian capital Zagreb. They may not be there much longer, as Croatian President Franjo Tudjman has vowed not to renew the UN mandate in the country when it expires March 31. While he has given UN forces until June to complete their withdrawal, Serb units -- who control about a quarter of Croatian territory -- are already preparing for an onslaught they fear will come once the United Nations leaves. Polish UN troops based at 40 observation posts along a line separating the Serbs from Croatian government contingents have spotted the Serbs digging trenches, laying mines and building defensive fortifications, said one officer who asked not to be named. Here in Knin, the "capital" of Krajina, the conviction is strong that renewed fighting will erupt soon. "We have no choice," insisted Savo Strbac, government secretary in the "Serb Republic of Krajina," proclaimed unilaterally in 1991 following an eight-month armed conflict with Croatia. "It's out of the question for us to return to Croatia. Our final goal is union with other Serbs (in Bosnia and the Republic of Serbia)." Strbac argued that the Serbs of Krajina were entitled to split from Croatia "since Croatia seceded from Yugoslavia without consulting us."

Page 2 Croatian Serbs dig in ahead of feared Croatian attack Agence France Presse -- English March 06, 1995

But on the streets of Knin, people express their weariness after four years of anxiety and uncertainty. The average salary is no more than 80 dollars a month in an economy where a pair of children's shoes costs 50 dollars. "Let the politicians agree once and for all and then stop talking about it," demanded Jelica, a former television journalist exasperated by the seemingly endless debate over the future of Krajina. "It's the little people like us who are paying the price. You don't see the sons of the big shots at the front," she said, adding that her three sisters were married to Croatians and lived in Zagreb. Petar, 27, takes a harder line. After having studied in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo and worked in Zagreb, he says he can no longer live among Moslems and Roman Catholic Croats. "After all the blood that has been spilled, we can't go back now," he said. "Everyone has to live in his own state." But Petar is relieved that he has not been called to military service, having been exempted because of his position as a mechanic at the Ubdina Airport, 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of here. At UN headquarters in Knin, civil affairs representative Grace Kang stressed that both Serbs and Croatians needed the United Nations. There is agreement on both sides that time is running out, she said, but added that she hoped UN-brokered talks could still be held April 1 between officials from both sides. vs/nh/bm AFP LOAD-DATE: March 06, 1995