But a United Nations spokesman said first contacts with a Bosnian Serb officer over the proposal had been "inconclusive."

Western diplomats said both actions seemed to be retaliation for the extradition of two Bosnian Serb officers to the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

"If he doesn't make a decision to bomb the Serbian gun positions, and very soon, there won't be any decision to make," a high-ranking Bosnian officer said today.

Bosnian troops were likely to continue advancing north to the industrial city of Prijedor, according to Bosnian officers.

A Fear of Winter The Bosnian officers also hope to break the siege before cold weather arrives.

A Bosnian officer said that the army was close to securing the plateau, which could be used to mount an advance southward toward Sarajevo.

At one point, the 51-year-old general leaned over to one of his subordinates, gestured at the Bosnian officers and whispered something.

One senior Bosnian officer said this afternoon that the fall of Mount Igman was imminent.

Avdo Palić (4 April 1958 - 1995) was a Bosnian military officer during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The immediate task, Pentagon officials say, is to begin training Bosnian officers and build a new corps of sergeants, the glue of any army.