The Killing Goes On

THE ETHNIC VENDETTAS IN YUGOSLAVIA'S SPLINTERing republics are sowing more death, this time in newly independent, Muslim-dominated Bosnia-Herzegovina. In | the small town of Bijeljina, where Serbs and Muslims have lived side by side for centuries, independence has bloodied the community, as irregular militias fight to remain linked with neighboring Serbia. After a Muslim grenade exploded in a Serb-owned cafe last week, killing several customers, heavily armed Serbian commandos slaughtered civilian Muslims and took over the town, invading the local mosque and tearing down the Islamic flag. In Bosnia's current state of lawlessness, guerrillas enter at will from Serbia and annex border towns. Sniper bullets and artillery shells whistle through the streets, catching innocent bystanders in the crossfire. In the week since independence was recognized, more than 100 have died, and the Serbian-dominated Yugoslav army has refused to intervene. Because of the close intermingling of Bosnia's Muslims, Serbs and Croats, some fear the casualties could eventually dwarf the toll in Croatia, where ethnic violence has taken more than 10,000 lives since last summer.