February 1, 1996
Web posted at: 11:30 p.m. EST (0430 GMT)
TUZLA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- Thousands of Muslim women refugees vowed to take their protest over missing relatives to Sarajevo to pressure the Bosnian government into action.
After their third day of protest this week, the angry women said they would leave Tuzla Friday morning on buses bound for Sarajevo.
They accuse their government of betrayal and want to know the whereabouts of as many as 8,000 men missing since last July from the east Bosnian town of Srebrenica.
The protesters occupied offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Tuzla on Tuesday, smashing windows and office equipment. Red Cross activities were back to normal on Wednesday, after vandalism by the women was repaired, Red Cross spokesman Laurent Fellay said.
On Thursday, about 3,000 women marched on a local government office, many of them weeping and shouting, "Where are our men?"
Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic urged the refugees not to make the trip to Sarajevo. He promised to come to Tuzla next week to discuss the women's concerns. About 40,000 refugees fled Srebrenica last summer. Many have taken refuge in and around Tuzla, where the U.S. contingent of the NATO peacekeeping force is headquartered.
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