By Helen Fawkes BBC News, Sarajevo

European peacekeepers are ready to intervene if there is any trouble

As they move forward, the menacing sound is in step with their marching.

The Turkish troops, part of the European Union's peacekeeping force in Bosnia-Hercegovina (Eufor), are taking part in a crowd-control exercise.

They are some of the 2,500 troops still stationed in the country, 12 years after the end of what is considered by many to have been the most brutal conflict in Europe since World War II.

Despite the continued presence of foreign peacekeepers, there are growing concerns about the stability of the Balkans.

The concerns are not just the result of the dispute over the status of the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo, but also of the simmering ethnic tensions in Bosnia.

Divided country

When the war ended with the Dayton accord in 1995, the country was split into two entities - the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia-Hercegovina and the Bosnian Serb Republic, or Republika Srpska.

Each entity has its own president, government, parliament, police and other bodies. These are overarched by a central Bosnian government and rotating presidency.

The former UN High Representative to Bosnia, Lord Paddy Ashdown, told the BBC he was worried that the country could prove to be a still more serious problem than Kosovo.

Lord Ashdown said he feared that Republika Srpska might declare independence.

EU ambitions

The man in charge of the European peacekeepers in Bosnia, German Rear Admiral Hans-Jochen Witthauer, says the country is not on the brink of another war, but that he is ready to intervene if there is any trouble.

This is a political crisis and will remain a political crisis - I see no security threat Miroslav Lajcak High Representative to Bosnia

Four battalions, including one from the UK, are on stand-by to reinforce the soldiers.

''As long as we are still here, as long as Eufor is still in this country, we will make sure that there is no way back to atrocities, to fighting again,'' Adm Witthauer says.

Bosnia has firmly set its sights on European integration.

It has now taken its first tentative step towards eventual EU membership, with the initialling of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

This starts a process that could lead to EU accession. But before there is a formal signing a series of reforms must be implemented.

Bosnia is the last of the former Yugoslav republics to get to this stage.

Thousands of Bosnian Serbs took part in protests during October

It was delayed by Bosnia's worst political crisis since the war.

The powerful international peace envoy, Miroslav Lajcak, had proposed political reforms which angered Bosnian Serb leaders. They claimed the measures would take away some of their republic's autonomy.

Thousands took part in protests in Republika Srpska. The demonstrators feared their mini-state was under threat.

Mr Lajcak - whose official title is the International Community's High Representative and EU Special Representative in Bosnia-Hercegovina - spoke about his frustrations at the time.

"Now we are spending most of our time de-escalating and calming down the situation, because this is damaging for the country, for its citizens and for the region, so the situation is potentially dangerous,'' he said.

Bosnia's leaders eventually agreed to the proposals, including a merger of the police forces.

Price rises

Despite the move towards Europe, many in Bosnia remain worried about the future.

We haven't seen this many people come here since the war Zilha Seta Sarajevo soup kitchen manager

The highly sensitive issue of Kosovo is looming across the Balkans. The ethnic Albanians, who make up more than 90% of the population in the Serb province, have vowed to declare independence.

Serbia is vehemently opposed to that.

In October, Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica drew comparisons between Bosnia and the Kosovo situation.

This led to the embassies of five Western countries including the US and the UK handing in a letter of protest to the Serbian government.

Meanwhile, rocketing food prices have added to the tension in Bosnia.

The cost of basic products such as flour and milk has risen in many parts of Europe.

In Bosnia, the increase has been dramatic - butter has gone up almost 60% since the summer. One reason is that Bosnians are stockpiling staple items like cooking oil.

At a soup kitchen in the heart of Sarajevo's old city food parcels of bread, cabbage and yoghurts are given out to some of the city's poorest residents.

''We have been getting an extra 100 to 200 people a day coming here," says Zilha Seta, who runs the soup kitchen.