Friday April 6 12:19 PM ET
By AIDA CERKEZ-ROBINSON, Associated Press Writer
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) - Masked police backed by NATO peacekeepers Friday seized control of a bank believed used by Bosnian Croat extremists to pursue their goal of an independent mini-state in Croat areas of Bosnia.
Angry Bosnian Croats responded by stoning international officials, beating up employees of international organizations and ransacking a local office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, international authorities said. …
Records show the Hercegovacka Banka was founded in 1997 by several private companies and the Franciscan Order, which controls the religious shrine in Medjugorje, a major source of income from pilgrims and donations by Croats living abroad.