960420

Fight break out

in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO: A fight broke out in Ferhadija, the main pedestrian street in Sarajevo, on Friday afternoon when a group of young Sarajevans attacked a Hare Krisha movement procession, local press reported on Saturday.

Four members of Hare Krishna, including two Britons and one Australian, were injured and taken to Sarajevo's Kosevo hospital, Vecernje Novine daily said.

The injured Britons were named as Toren Wilson and Gary Wilson. The Australian citizen and a boy from the Bosnian town of Konjic were not identified.

Hare Krishna was due to hold a "Festival of India" in Sarajevo on Saturday afternoon attended by guests from all over the world, including the Hare Krishna Theatre from London.

Vecernje Novine said that about 100 people were involved in the fight that lasted for 20 minutes. No reason was given and the paper did not say how it started.

Witnesses said that shop windows were broken and traces of blood were visible after things calmed down.

"It was very brutal," witnesses said.

The clash had been unexpected. The Hare Krishna movement had been very active in Sarajevo throughout the war, performing their dance and songs in the city streets even during the worst of the shelling and winning sympathy for their courage from the besieged residents.

Adnan Kosovac, spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior, promised the police would do its best do catch the perpetrators.-Reuter