A BOOK detailing an SAS attempt to stop one of the worst war crimes carried out in Bosnia has been blocked by the Ministry of Defence, according to reports, writes BILL TANNER.

Revelations of the Herefordshire-based regiment's role in trying to save the UN 'safe haven' at Srebrenica, scene of a notorious massacre, are apparently being pitched to publishers.

But the MoD seems set against the book ever appearing in print.

It's the latest chapter in an on-going saga involving the Ministry and SAS personnel proving the pen is mightier than the sword.

The resulting books have become a lucrative genre of their own and led to jokes that 'writing a best seller' is an essential part of special forces training. But there's a price to pay. More than 30 former soldiers have been barred from regimental functions for recording their experiences.

Top brass is determined the SAS should stay in the shadows after a string of stories from all quarters.

The latest offering is said to tell of a two-man SAS team sent into the Srebrenica 'safe haven' for Muslim refugees in 1995.

Around 7,000 men were massacred when Serbs took control of the enclave abandoned by the United Nations. The book apparently tells of the team's attempts to call in air strikes against Serb forces. Such action was eventually aborted to spare UN hostages.

There has never been any official acknowledgement that the SAS was in Srebrenica. The MoD maintains a 'no comment' policy on matters relating to the regiment.