SERB LEADERS SEEK TO COUNTER CHARGES OF ABUSES IN CAMPS

As Western powers moved closer to agreement on using force in warring Bosnia, Serb leaders sought to defuse the furor over the allegations of murder, rape, and beatings at detention camps.

Red Cross officials said Sunday they received permission to inspect Serb-run detention camps holding Muslims and ethnic Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina. But there were concerns that Serbs might move prisoners before the inspectors arrived.

Yugoslav Premier Milan Panic toured an Army barracks on the outskirts of Belgrade to refute claims by Bosnia that it held 2,500 inmates. There were no prisoners, and Mr. Panic said Serbs were the "victims of an ongoing propaganda campaign."

Most of the world's attention has been focused on camps run by Serbs in northern Bosnia. Bosnian Muslims and Croats claim Serbs run 94 camps in Bosnia holding about 130,000 people. But Serbs claim about 40,000 of their people are currently held in 45 Muslim and Croat camps.