By our Foreign Staff

A BRITISH soldier was shot yesterday in central Bosnia, as Serbs

ignored US warnings and reneged on their promise to lift the Sarajevo

siege.

The soldier was hit in the chest when his armoured car came under fire

from Croat gunmen. His patrol was raked with small arms fire in the town

of Gornji Vakuf.

Battalion commander Colonel Alastair Duncan said the shots had come

from Bosnian Croat HVO forces but he did not know if the attack was

deliberate or the British UN troops were simply caught in crossfire.

''We understand that the fire came from the direction of the cemetery

where we understand the HVO have some trenches,'' he said.

The soldier was treated in Gornji Vakuf and then taken to hospital at

the British military base at Vitez. His condition was described as

serious but stable.

Colonel Duncan, of the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire,

said they would not change operational procedures as a result of the

attack.

Gornji Vakuf has been the scene of fierce fighting between Muslim and

Croat forces. The Muslims have taken control of most of the town but

Croat units earlier this week mounted a counter-attack.

Meanwhile American Secretary of State Warren Christopher warned the

Bosnian Serbs they must stop ''strangling'' Sarajevo or face military

action. Talks had failed to get the Serbs to live up to their pledge to

withdraw from two strategic mountains overlooking the Bosnian capital.

Hardline Serb commander General Ratko Mladic and the Muslim military

chief Rasim Delic met at Sarajevo Airport for six hours under the

chairmanship of UN commander General Francis Briquemont. Newly captured

Serb positions on Mount Bjelasnica and Mount Igman were to be

surrendered to the UN under a promise on Thursday by Bosnian Serb leader

Radovan Karadzic.

General Briquemont said talks would continue tomorrow. ''The

discussions were very difficult but we have decided to go on.''

Senior UN sources said the chief sticking point was General Mladic's

refusal to give up control

A Scot has been recommended by UN Secretary-General Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, along with two other candidates, to the Security Council

for the post of chief prosecutor of the war crimes tribunal for the

former Yugoslavia. Mr J. Duncan Lowe has been a Crown Agent since 1991.

Mr Lowe, educated at Hamilton Academy and Glasgow University, was a

regional procurator-fiscal in Lothian and Borders before taking up the

post as Crown Agent.

of key areas and an attempt by him to tell UN forces where to deploy.

The Serb offer to withdraw had been seen as a key step in persuading

Bosnia's Muslim-led government to return to peace negotiations in Geneva

which it has been boycotting over the Serb assault on the mountains.

Time could be running out for the Serbs. After talks with Nato

Secretary-General Manfred Woerner, Mr Christopher said a final decision

on Western military strikes could come after the alliance meets to

discuss options on Monday.

''The international community cannot accept the bombing of citizens

and the laying of siege to cities,'' Mr Christopher said. ''It's time

for Serbs to stop strangling Sarajevo.''

Mr Christopher met the Nato chief at Aviano air base in northern

Italy, which is being used by US fighters operating over Bosnia.

Britain's Field-Marshal Sir Richard Vincent, chairman of Nato's military

committee, its highest military authority, took part in the talks.

In Washington, President Clinton consulted his advisers on US

strategy, while Nato strategists finished their contingency plans for

bombing raids. The blueprints, expected to include a wide-ranging list

of Serb targets, will be reviewed today by high-ranking Nato military

officials.

Diplomats from all 16 Nato states will then meet on Monday to decide

whether to approve the plans.

As Nato flexed its muscles, however, UN General Briquemont criticised

possible air strikes, warning they could bring down Serb retaliation on

his 9000 peacekeeping troops.

His fears may be realised. In preparation for being sent into action,

Nato planes have begun making practice runs.

Nearly 70 RAF, American, French, and Dutch fighters are stationed at

Italian air bases from where they would swoop into the war zone.

Opposition to the idea mounted not only among peacekeeping forces in

Bosnia, but also among aid agencies, the peace mediators and some

European countries.

In Geneva, mediator Lord Owen suggested threats of air strikes had

disrupted the talks. Diplomats say they believe the Bosnian Muslims are

actually dragging their feet in the hope that Nato might bomb Serb

positions.