ZAGREB, June 22 -- The Croatian government granted asylum Wednesday to more than 400 Bosnian refugees stranded in Serb-held territory since June 14, U.N. officials said.
The refugees were scheduled to be transported to Gasinci, Croatia's largest refugee facility, later in the day.
'Those with the correct papers were allowed leave yesterday (Tuesday), but Croatia's vice president gave us permission for the whole group this afternoon,' said Boris Debic, an official with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
'Gasinci is full, but we'll squeeze them,' he said.
Early last week, eight Serbian buses dumped 462 people from northern Bosnia at a Croatian checkpoint near Novska, 54 miles (90 km) southeast of the Croatian capital of Zagreb.
The group included 110 children, 12 people in need of medical evacuation and the entire population of Bronzani Majdan, a Muslim village 11 miles (18 km) west of the Bosnian Serb stronghold of Banja Luka in neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Zagreb government denied them entry on the grounds that Croatia already cared for more than 500,000 refugees and could not absorb anymore.
While U.N. relief officials attempted to negotiate the group's passage out of territory held by Croatia's rebel Serbs, Jordanian and Nepalese U.N. peacekeepers supplied food and shelter.
'We served them from our rations, we cooked for them and we gave them everything from our hearts because we know the situation they are coming from,' said Jordanian Cpl. Nawash al-Madi.
Only 58 of the refugees possessed the requisite transit visas, but the others had been assured by the Banja Luka 'Refugee Commissioner' that they would be resettled immediately in Sweden.
Croatian officials feared that admitting such a large group would give a 'green light' to Bosnian Serbs to continue with 'ethnic cleansing,' a campaign of pressure, terror and persecution which eventually forces Bosnian Muslims and Croats to leave their homes.
'If another group arrives, we will deal with consequences,' said UNHCR spokesperson Lemka Lisinski. 'We will be obliged to ask Croatia again to let them in, but we will do our best to speed resettlement in third countries,' she said.NEWLN: (edited by nesho djuric in belgrade)
