1 The government on Tuesday threatened to pull out of a truce keeping most of Bosnia at peace unless Serbs stop attacks in the northwest and permit aid convoys through to feed the famished.
2 The warning, contained in a statement issued by the Bosnian embassy in Zagreb, Croatia, was originally delivered Monday by Bosnian Foreign Minister Irfan Ljubijankic to senior U.N. envoy Yashushi Akashi.
3 Ljubijankic said conditions in the northwestern Bihac pocket had to improve within the next 24 hours or the Bosnian government would consider the truce invalid. But fighting continued into Tuesday, the day set by the ultimatum, and Serbs continued to refuse an aid convoy access into the region.
4 There was no immediate comment from the government in Sarajevo on the ultimatum, which is bound to result in an upsurge of fighting if carried out. Except for the Bihac pocket, the truce has kept most of Bosnia quiet since coming into effect Jan. 1.
5 But U.N. officials said that President Alija Izetbegovic warned Akashi in a letter sent Monday that unless fighting around Bihac ceased immediately he would order other units to that front line to help government forces.
6 Bosnian Serbs agreed Sunday to let U.N. aid convoys cross territory they hold to reach Bihac from the east. But they failed to respond to a request by UNHCR to send a convoy on Tuesday.
7 'We have not obtained clearance, which is the same as saying no,' said Kris Janowski, Sarajevo spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
8 Serbs from Croatia and anti-government Muslims, both allied with Bosnian's rebel Serbs, are fighting the Bosnian government in the region and have repeatedly blocked aid shipments from the north and west.
9 In Zagreb, Croatia, where the U.N. mission has its headquarters, spokeswoman Alemka Lisinski said a nine-truck convoy loaded with 110 tons of aid was standing by.
10 U.N. officials are increasingly alarmed by the severe food shortages in Bihac, one of six U.N.-declared 'safe areas.'
11 'We believe this is the first time during the war that people in a safe area are seriously threatened with starvation,' Janowski said.
12 Ron Redmond, spokesman at the agency's headquarters in Geneva, said the agency knew of no one who starved to death yet, but said that could happen 'unless we are given immediate and full access.'
13 The food situation at times has been critical in other surrounded enclaves in Bosnia, such as eastern Srebrenica and northern Maglaj. But during the worst periods of blockade, air drops of food have helped the population survive.
14 UNHCR twice requested air drops over Bihac, but countries flying the planes refused because of the danger of the planes being targeted by Serb anti-aircraft missiles.
15 'It would be an absolute horror for the international community to watch these people starving,' Redmond said.
16 Janowski said everyone was affected.
17 'It's not just the most vulnerable sectors of society at risk, the old and the sick. It is increasingly visible that even the most affluent areas and families are suffering,' he said.
18 U.N. officials reported clashes overnight between government and Bosnian Serb forces southwest of Bihac, where Bosnian Serbs launched an offensive last week. Clashes in the region eased by noon.
19 U.N. spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Coward said government forces appeared to have regained some ground lost in the latest Serb offensive southwest of Bihac town.
20 U.N. officials have noted a buildup of Serb forces in the area in recent days, which could signal a new offensive.
21 In Sarajevo, meanwhile, U.N. peacekeepers tested roads into the capital from the airport. Bosnian Serbs last week said they would not allow any aid into the city after a Serb working for the UNHCR was detained by the Bosnian government on suspicion of spying.
22 That forced UNHCR to close down the airlift for two days because of lack of storage space at the airport. The airlift resumed Monday and Serbs said they would allow aid through. Tuesday morning, French peacekeepers drove a convoy into the city without incident.
23 Elsewhere, U.N. officials reported rising tensions around Srebrenica. U.N. spokesman Maj. Herve Gourmelon said a hand grenade was thrown into the main U.N. base in the enclave in what he described as 'a direct attack on peacekeepers.'
24 A U.N. observation post on Monday came under small arms fire, attributed to Bosnian Serbs, he said.

There was no immediate comment from the government in Sarajevo on the ultimatum , which is bound to result in an upsurge of fighting if carried out . Except for the Bihac pocket , the truce has kept most of Bosnia quiet since coming into effect Jan . 1 .
government
Was this ultimatum issued outside of official state intentions?