Plavsic is accused of destabilising the Bosnian Serbs

Bosnian Serb Army Threatens Plavsic

The threat was issued in a communique later released by the Bosnian Serb news agency, SRNA. The Bosnian Serb army chief of staff said that intervention by troops would be considered if Ms Plavsic continued to "destabilise" the Bosnian Serb republic.

The communique described the situation in the republic as "extremely serious". This was because of the "measures and unconstitutional decisions taken by the President, who has started to apply the maxim 'I am the State'".

Ms Plavsic was accused of having "totally isolated" the Bosnian Serb army to the benefit of certain, unnamed "individuals, organs and international organisations" which were trying to "break the Serb republic and create a unified Bosnia-Hercegovina."

The army communique marks the first time that the Bosnian Serb military has stated its position since the power struggle began.

And Momcilo Krajisnik, the Serb representative to Bosnia's collective presidency, has again called on Bosnian Serb security forces to obey Ms Plavsic's orders. In an emotive broadcast carried by Bosnian Serb radio stations, Mr Krajisnik, who is a close ally of Mr Karadzic, declared: "We want you out of this illegal mess. You owe your loyalty to the state, not a single person."

SFOR Troops are still deployed in Banja Luka

Top international officials in Bosnia condemned the Bosnian Serb leaders for allowing the security situation to deteriorate.

Both the Commander of the Stabilization Force, S-FOR, and the Deputy International mediator for Bosnia, have sent letters to leaders from both sides of rival factions, saying that recent events involving police issues have shown a willingness to solve a political dispute by undemocratic means.

They say both sides have shown a willingness to solve a political dispute by undemocratic means, in the way they use their own police forces and they have condemned what they called a highly inflamatory and biased press reporting being used.

Increasingly the Bosnian Serb state media, which is run by Mrs Plavsic's opponents, is using extremely unbalanced reports,

Troops from the NATO-led peace force are still deployed around police stations in the north-western town of Banja Luka. The Banja Luka police are accused of having bugged Ms Plavsic's telephones.

International support is Ms Plavsic's most powerful weapon. The Americans have made it clear that she has their support, while the Russians - traditional allies of the Serbs - have indicated that they may back Ms Plavsic's call for new elections in the Bosnian Serb republic.