Balkans: July 17, 2003

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SFOR peacekeepers in Bosnia said that Bosnia must continue to shrink the size of its military forces. In part, Bosnia cannot afford both a Federal and a Bosnian Serb military force. One report said the Bosnian military was way behind in paying its electricity bills. The OSCE says that the approximately 20,000 Bosnian troops (Federal and Serb another source says 19,200) gobble up 18 percent of Bosnias entire governmental budget. On the other hand, one reason the forces remain large, and in two parts, in neither side really trusts the other.