11. Buddhist rebels fighting for autonomy have unilaterally extended a truce by a month to continue peace talks with the government. 12. Clinton urged Yeltsin to extend the truce, but Yeltsin dismissed the call, justifying the Chechen campaign as a police action to disarm criminal gangs. 13. Clinton urged Yeltsin to extend the truce. 14. Clinton told a news conference he had urged Yeltsin to extend a truce that expires Friday in Chechnya, where thousands of civilians have died since December. 15. Clinton had urged Yeltsin to extend the truce, but Yeltsin dismissed the call, justifying the Chechen campaign as a police action to disarm criminal gangs. 16. Delegations from the two sides agreed during a recent meeting in Moscow to extend the truce, though some skirmishing has persisted. 17. Earlier, Akashi met Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic, who said extending the truce would be tantamount to legalizing Serb occupation of Bosnian territory. 18. France, with the largest contingent of peacekeepers in Bosnia, is threatening to withdraw if the truce is not extended. 19. France, which has the most troops, warned earlier that it would withdraw its soldiers if the now collapsed truce was not extended. 20. France, with the largest contingent of peacekeepers in Bosnia, is threatening to withdraw them if the truce is not extended. |