Croatian Army members forcibly separated soldiers from civilians as well as males, women and children, which is a human rights violation. The agreement stipulated a demobilization and a free passage, not a capture. To the journalist's question about the sources of UNCRO information (since many journalists had been in the area and had not seen any traces of what Gunness was talking about) Gunness replied: a report by the EU observers who were on the spot! To the demands that he read the document, if it exists, in its entirety and out loud, Gunness responded that he was in possession of the document but couldn't read it because it was a secret document. "How can you talk about the organized looting by drunk and unrestrained soldiers? How can drunk soldiers be organized?" asked the journalists. However, they did not get an answer. Instead, the spokesperson Gunness repeatedly referred to the breaking of the agreement by the Croatian forces. According to the U.N. informations the units of the Croatian Army fired more than 19 shells on the territory on which the Serbs were located. Nevertheless, at the press conference, Colonel Walt Natynczyk stated that it was not known who fired first 6 shells, after which a fierce shelling started; however, it is known for sure that those 17 shells were fired by the Croats. U.N. functionaries did not want to speculate about why the Croatian Army fired those shells or whether the Serbs had started first with provocations, giving the lack of informations as a reason. On frequent journalist's queries on why about some things they [U.N.] know everything and about others nothing, Gunness kept replying by referring to the "secret report" by the EU monitors.
Because of the U.N.'s extreme concern regarding the civilians who had been taken to different cities, UNCRO was trying to carefully monitor their movement in order to ascertain they were not being mistreated. "We must say that the Croatian Army treats them correctly; they were given necessary aid and we are not aware of any cases of mistreatment," said Gunness, adding that they were concerned because the Serbs had been taken away. Trying to explain the chain of events, Col. Natynczyk said that the shelling had started when everything about the evacuation of the Serbs across the river Save had been agreed. He refused to comment the news about a division in the Serb group, saying that he had no information about that; he also could not say why Dzakula [one of the local Serb leaders] surrendered and had not accepted to be evacuated across the Sava. "I guess because of those 17 shells," flippantly responded Natynczyk. After the journalists insisted that this was a serious question, Natynczyk replied that he did not know what Dzakula had been thinking, but that he had been surprised when Dzakula had been brought in handcuffs by the Croatian forces.
It was also reported at the press conference that it was tense in other sectors where the Croatian Army had entered the zones of separation and was bringing in reinforcements and digging in heavy weapons. Regarding the Croatian Army artillery attack in the Sector West, the journalists wanted to know whether it had occured due to weak coordination or disobedience. "Military headquarters make decisions about an artillery attack," said Natynczyk, stating that it was worrying that on many spots in all sectors the Croatian Army claimed it could not guarantee the security of UNCRO peacekeepers. "When we are not allowed through, it is certain that something is going on, and that is worrying," said Natynczyk.