Sporadic fighting and shelling shook parts of embattled Bosnia-Herzegovina Monday, and neighboring Serbia felt the isolation of mounting international sanctions over its involvement in the war.
With speculation rampant in the Serbian press that the U.N. embargo imposed Saturday may be a prelude to foreign military intervention, the commander of the Serb-led Yugoslav air force promised his planes would repel any attack."We will fight to the last man," declared Maj. Gen. Bozidar Stefanovic in an interview.
Small arms and cannon fire was reported in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo throughout much of the night. A U.N.-mediated cease-fire was to take effect Monday evening, although its chances of success were questionable.
The United Nations and most of the world blame Serbia and its tiny ally, Montenegro, the only two states remaining in Yugoslavia, for the bloody conflict in Bosnia.
The war pits Bosnian government forces - mainly Slavic Muslims and Croats - against ethnic Serb insurgents supported by the Yugoslav army.
At least 2,250 people have died in fighting since the Muslims and Croats, who account for nearly 60 percent of the republic's 4.3 million people, voted for independence on Feb. 29.
The U.N. Security Council's tough sanctions include a ban on all trade, denial of athletic participation, an oil embargo and the cutting of air links.
Imports of food and humanitarian supplies are allowed.
Yugoslav Airlines, the national flag carrier, and Avio Genex, a charter airline, announced Monday they were discontinuing all flights to Western Europe. Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Belgrade airport.
Milelong lines of cars formed in front of gasoline stations early Monday as motorists, fearing an oil squeeze, rushed to stock up.
But there was no panic-buying in Belgrade's still well-stocked stores. Most people appeared confident that the sanctions would not make much difference.
"I cannot believe that these sanctions will last long enough to make a difference," said Verica Milivojevic, a grocery sale clerk.
President Bush froze Yugoslav government assets in the United States on Sunday, and Britain said it was doing the same Monday.
On Sunday, tens of thousands demonstrated against President Slobodan Milosevic, an authoritarian former communist, and legislative elections organized to legitimize his hold on the government.