US to keep troops in Bosnia

Earlier, officials in Washington said President Clinton had decided to keep American peacekeeping troops in Bosnia beyond next June when their mandate is due to expire.

The officials said Mr Clinton would make an announcement later today -- three days before he leaves for Bosnia on a Christmas visit to the eight-thousand U.S. troops there.

The president has been under pressure from European leaders to maintain an American military presence in Bosnia.

The BBC Washington correspondent says the new international force for Bosnia is likely to be smaller than the current thirty-thousand-strong one.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service