Hurd's tough warning to Serbs

DOUGLAS HURD, the Foreign Secretary, has issued a tough warning to the Serbs in advance of a crucial conference on the former Yugoslavia in London this week, and he insisted that the West will not allow Bosnia to be carved up by force, writes Steve Crawshaw.

In an interview with the Independent on Sunday, Mr Hurd rejected suggestions that the Bosnian government should, in effect, accept defeat and that a divided Bosnia should be regarded as the new reality. 'The idea that simply because you or your friends have occupied swathes of territory, the world simply packs up and accepts that, will be shown to be wrong,' he said.

Mr Hurd suggested that a further turn of the screw would be needed in order to persuade the Serbs to back down. 'I don't think present pressures are sufficient. The next few weeks will show.'

In Bosnia yesterday, ground fighting and artillery duels intensified. Two British soldiers were injured as gunfire hit Sarajevo airport.