Never again war. Never again hatred and intolerance Pope John Paul II

A Vatican spokesman played down the incident and said the travel schedule would go-ahead as planned.

Pope John Paul II had wanted to visit Sarajevo at the height of the war in September 1994, when the city was under siege by Serbs. But the Serbs had said they could not guarantee his safety and the trip was cancelled.

Today at Sarajevo International Airport the frail pontiff was protected by an unprecedented number of police, as Nato helicopters circled over head.

He waved to crowds from the door of his plane, then made his way down the ramp to kiss a box filled with Bosnian soil.

The visit aims to ease tensions between, Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholic Croats and Muslims, living together in a federation created by the Dayton Peace Accord two years ago.

He preached reconciliation in Serbo-Croat, saying: "Never again war. Never again hatred and intolerance."

But Bosnia is still a deeply divided nation - so much so that Serbian and Croatian members of Bosnia's three-member presidency could not agree on a national anthem and none was played for the Pope's arrival.

Momlico Krajisnik, the Serbian member of the presidency, refused to attend the welcoming ceremony because, as an Orthodox Christian, he does not recognise the Pope.

But the Muslim member and chairman of the presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, was there to greet the Pope in "this martyr city".

He praised the pontiff for speaking out about Bosnia's suffering during the Balkan War that lasted 43 months.

The Pope then travelled by glass-topped, armoured Popemobile along the road once referred to as Sniper Alley waving to the faithful until he arrived at the Roman Catholic cathedral for Mass.

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