Sarajevo, Thursday

THE State Hospital here took another direct hit today killing four

people and wounding 35 in the latest bout of Bosnian Serb shelling which

has continued despite the threat of air strikes by Nato.

One person was killed when one of the city's two main hospitals was

shelled, and two people were wounded at a bus stop outside the hospital,

officials said.

''The Serbs fired a shell which slammed on to the roof, just next to

the hospital generator, trying to destroy it,'' said State Hospital

general manager Dr Bakir Nakas. The generator is a lifeline to the

hospital which, like much of the city, is without mains electricity.

The newly-appointed civilian chief of United Nations peacekeeping

force UNPROFOR, Mr Yasushi Akashi, who has been asked to assess the

risks of air strikes against Bosnian Serbs, arrived in Belgrade for

talks with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

''I am leaving with a bit of understanding of the concerns,

preoccupations and viewpoints of the government here,'' Mr Akashi said

after meeting Mr Milosevic. He declined to comment on the air strike

threat.

The Chief of Staff of the Bosnian Serb Army, General Manojlo

Milovanovic, said Nato air strikes would endanger UN troops and rejected

the alliance proposal that Tuzla airport in northern Bosnia should be

reopened.

In a letter to the European Union the mayor of Tuzla said the

situation in the town had become desperate. -- Reuter.