World Notes Yugoslavia

The fragile truce -- the sixth in just three months -- held only nine days. Last week the Serbian-dominated Yugoslav army, charging that Croatia had violated the cease-fire, launched a new offensive aimed at crushing resistance in the rebel republic. The main targets of the onslaught were the key Croatian towns of Vukovar, Vinkovci and Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia's best-known tourist attraction on the Adriatic coast. As warships blockaded the port city, air- force jets bombed and strafed it, while artillery pounded the area, leaving Dubrovnik without electricity and water.

At week's end the leaders of Serbia and Croatia agreed on the outlines of yet another truce. Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and federal Defense Minister Veljko Kadijevic agreed to call off the offensive, while Croatian President Franjo Tudjman pledged to lift blockades around federal army bases. Both sides also pledged to discuss new political arrangements for the protection of minorities. But the news produced no immediate break in the fighting, raising fears that the atavistic struggle might be beyond diplomatic solution.