About 240 Serbs, mostly women, children and men above military age, have reportedly been detained by Bosnian Croat forces in the village of Rascani since autumn 1992. Their movement is reportedly severely restricted although they appear to be allowed to go to the nearby town of Tomislavgrad if they get the permission of the Croatian authorities (HVO). They are apparently being kept in the area as a safeguard against further bombardment by Serb forces. A newspaper report in January 1993 alleged that, according to the HVO commander in Tomislavgrad, the Serb villagers were held because the Bosnian Serbs had refused to return Croat prisoners from this area. AI is concerned that they are being detained as hostages on account of their ethnic origin.
