Injuries, Arrests In Bosnian Workers' Protest

SARAJEVO -- Officials say 22 people, including more than a dozen police officers, were injured and 24 arrested when protesters in the northern Bosnian town of Tuzla clashed with police over the closure of local factories.

The clashes on February 5 began when some 600 people tried to break into a regional administration headquarters.

The protesters -- who police said were joined by local soccer fans -- threw stones at police and set tires on fire.

The protesters said they have not been paid for months and accused authorities of fraudulently privatizing a number of state-owned companies and then allowing them to go bankrupt.

Bosnia is facing growing economic and social problems 20 years after the end of its 1992-95 internecine war.

Tuzla is the third-largest city and the industrial heart of the north.