Diana has wanted to go to Bosnia for some time

Green Light for Diana's Bosnia Mission

She is now expected to leave on Friday, although final details have not yet been decided.

Diana has wanted to visit Bosnia for some time as part of her campaign against landmines. Her spokesman said she hoped to make the journey "in the near future".

A Foreign Office spokesman said the situation was constantly under review and the princess could be advised to call it off if her security was at risk. But the spokesman said: "Our advice at this stage to the office of Diana, Princess of Wales, is to go ahead."

The lethal legacy of war

It has been made clear the visit will not be under the auspices of the British Red Cross, which was behind Diana's highly controversial trip to see minefields in Angola in January.

At the time she became embroiled in a political row with some backbench MPs who felt she should not have spoken out on the issue.

The charity said it had decided a visit to Bosnia by the Princess was "not a good idea", but insisted this did not mean there was a rift with Diana.

Red Cross has Karadzic Connection

The president of the local Red Cross branch in Bosnia is the wife of the former Serb leader and indicted war criminal, Radovan Karadzic. It would have been virtually impossible for the Princess to avoid a politically embarrassing meeting with Mrs Karadzic.

Two other charities operating in the region, the British-based Halo Trust, which was also involved in Diana's Angolan visit, and a Norwegian group from Oslo called Norsk Folk Ehjelp (Norwegian People's Aid), said they knew nothing about the visit.

Diana's presence in Bosnia will attract huge publicity. It comes after Britain took the first step in a new get-tough policy over Bosnia's failure to meet peace deadlines.

Foreign Secretary Robin Cook cut off all contact with Mugdim Pasic, the Bosnian Charges d'Affaires, who represents the Bosnian Muslims in London.

British companies are clearing mines in Bosnia

The United States is also sending the man who brokered the Dayton peace accord for Bosnia - Richard Holbrooke - back to the region to try to keep the reconciliation process going.

Security for the Princess will be intense because of the involvement of the SAS in the killing of one war criminal and the arrest of another in Prijedor last month.

Related sites