10.00.00:00

00:01

V/O

Outside shot of Sarajevo Airport

Sarajevo Airport- the heart of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Getting here used to be easy; thousands flew in for the 1984 winter Olympics.

00:23

Truck driving along a road, shots of passengers

Now it's not so easy. With Sarajevo gripped by Serbian forces, the only way in is the long, tortuous journey through the mountains. The rough tracks take a toll on the truck. There's regular stops for repairs.

The next morning, after 20 hours on the road, the convoy climbs the last hill. It's within a few miles of Sarajevo.

00.36

Army officers indoors

Troops are the only guests from the hotels built for the '84 Olympics, high above the Bosnian capital. There's near a phony war about the place.

00.45

Man at desk

This major, a Bosnian Croate, known as "The Shadow", once served in the Yugoslav army. Now he's joined Bosnian Muslims to fight the Serbian forces besieging his hometown.

00.57

Sarajevo from a distance, zooms onto specific places

Not far away, there's a clear view across Sarajevo's suburbs to the airport. Beyond that lies the besieged suburb of Dobrinja, and the tower blocks of the town centre.

01.11

People in queue

An hour's walk along the secret mountain paths too small for vehicles lies Kruznica, on the outskirts of Sarajevo. Even here, where some supplies are carried in, there are serious food shortages, with long queues for bread- when the shooting stops.

01.28

Old woman speaking, dubbed

"All of us with families, we're all in a very bad position. There are six in my family. I have to find food for all of them."

01.37

Man in fatigues speaking

These people have no food. No milk for children, no chocolate, no nothing. Serbs have only. Army have only. These people, not have nothing. Look at the children.

01.50

Serbian officer running bike in neighbourhood

Butmir lies still closer to Sarajevo, across a rickety bridge where Serbian snipers have already killed three people.

02.02

Man in fatigues walks across garden, gestures to camera

Through the shattered buildings lies the focus of international attention- the airport itself. These buildings also mark the limit of territory held by the Muslim and Croatian forces. They can approach, with care, til they're within a few hundred yards of the runway, but no further.

02.21

Sarajevo Airport

The airport is in Serbian territory. Serbian vehicles use it as a bypass to avoid the main roads through Dobrinja, on the other side of the runway. Dobrinja itself is cut off and regularly bombarded.

02.36

Man in jacket speaks (dubbed)

The Serbs are constantly firing at Dobrinja to interfere. They want to make it look as though the Bosnian defence forces are attacking the airport.

02.51

Jeep drives past airport

Last week, as United Nations peacekeeping forces moved into the airport, they found they were effectively patrolling the front line of the war.

03.00

Men crouched with binoculars

Muslim and Croate forces watched the UN trying to secure the runway, to open it for relief supplies to come in.

03.06

Streets of Sarajevo from a distance, some explosions from a tank

But the Serbian forces remain defiant, simply operating around the UN troops. As the ceasefire crumbled under Serbian artillery barrages, it's clear the Serbs are not going to release their grip on Sarajevo Airport, not without a fight. And it's the only hope for bringing food for more than 300,000 starving people.

03.32

Children and their mother outside a ruined building

For Sarajevo families, surviving on little more than nettle soup, the success or failure of the UN's mission is crucial. After two months under siege, with Serb forces controlling all road routes into the Bosnian capital, an airlift was their only hope of avoiding starvation.

03.57

POV shot from backseat of truck

The Bosnian and Herzegovinian forces have little faith in the UN troops and their ability to even up the odds in this unequal war.

04.06

Man with gun speaking (dubbed)

We can't wait forever like this. We don't think the UN's plans will succeed. Frankly, we're disappointed with them. They should have put a stop to this. And if it's not possible the people should have been told the UN can't do it.

04.25

"The Shadow" speaks from behind desk (dubbed)

I don't believe the UN can do anything here. We're not talking about the regular armies of two countries. These are all informal groups, some of which are fighting for their own objectives, like bands of marauding thieves. They're not interested in peace.

04.48

More shots from afar of distant explosions in Sarajevo, jeeps and tanks driving about

Back at Sarajevo Airport, there's certainly very little interest in peace as the ceasefire collapses. After a few hours, the UN forces have had enough and pull out. With so much fighting going on, there isn't much work for peacekeepers. Once they've gone, Serbian forces quickly re-establish themselves along the runway, and the fighting intensifies.

05.25

The rubble of former houses, and the people living in them

Months of such fighting has now destroyed thousands of homes, in and around the Bosnian capital. Quiet rural neighbourhoods have been transformed into scarred battlegrounds, where residents scurry between houses and have developed an instinctive fear of being in open spaces. The fighting has shattered people as well as homes, leaving a sincere but vague wish for someone to restore peace.

05.52

Old man speaking

United Nations are peaceful. I mean, but- we need somebody who's going to make peace here, not to keep peace. We need over here somebody who's going to make the peace over here, and we'll live in the peace. We have to live together again. That's the reason- we need the help from the United Nations, or NATO, or European Community, or somebody who's going to make peace here.

06.28

Distant shot of Dobrinja, and explosions and fires within

Meanwhile, the pounding of the besieged suburb of Dobrinja goes on relentlessly. The Bosnian forces have few heavy weapons, and can do little against the Serb artilleries and mortars ranked against them from the airport and surrounding hills. With the UN's decision to abandon the airport, Sarajevo's Bosnian people fear for their lives.

07.02

Boy walking through military ground

Already the Serbs have captured over 60% of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

07.10

People in apartment building doorways, people walking along ruined pathways, running under gunfire

Forced to huddle in doorways, people worry this vicious war has a long way to go. Until the international community enters Bosnia more forcefully, they worry their country will soon be in Serb hands.  But many Bosnians argue the only solution has to be a peaceful settlement.

07.28

Same old man from previous vox pop

We can't live without... I mean, one without others. Because population of Bosnia-Herzegovina is mixed of the three nations. We have to again, again and still live together.

07.49

Pan of barren agricultural land

Many here now insist Sarajevo's skies will only clear when a new international force arrives- this time, equipped to enforce a truce. For the world, that is a dangerous precedent few wish to set.

08.04

Abandoned church, interior and exterior, but especially its graveyard

The Balkans have a history of brutality among themselves. In the past, it took the iron fist of communism to weld Yugoslavia's divided people together. Without a replacement, it seems more and more unlikely that the historical divides here can be bridged. With more than 70,000 already dead in this war, the hate between the factions grows each day.

08.33

END