US troops are to stay in Bosnia beyond the planned withdrawal date of next summer.

"We must finish the job we started," President Clinton told a news conference.

"Two years ago American leadership helped end the war in Bosnia. Now the lives of the Bosnian people are better and their hopes brighter. We ended the fighting and the bloodshed."

Mr Clinton had intended to bring US soldiers home next summer at the end of an 18-month mission.

But he said an American presence was still needed to secure the Dayton peace agreement.

President Clinton: Demands and desires for the new Bosnia mission(5'02")

"We have begun to restore normal life and the progress is unmistakable but it is not yet irreversible," said the president.

He said he hoped the US presence would be smaller than the current 8,500 soldiers serving with the United Nations peacekeeping force SFOR.

But he said he wanted a number of assurances for the UN mission after June and wished to retain command of the force and ensure that costs were manageable.

He added that the force must have the support of the US Congress and the American public if his agreement in principle to the follow-on military force was to become a commitment.

Mr Clinton also called on Europe to do more to rebuild Bosnia following the crippling war.

US troops lead the multinational force.

The US troops were posted to Bosnia for 18 months as part of a multinational peacekeeping force.

Nato countries are drawing up mission plans to operate in Bosnia from June next year, when the current mandate runs out.

Mr Clinton said the new mission must enable voluntary and civilian agencies working the Bosnia the opportunity to encourage economic development, reform the country's police service and help refugees return home.

He also wants agencies in Bosnia working towards tracking down war criminals and restoring the state media to "international standards of objectivity" while also establishing alternative independent media.

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