BELGRADE, (Yugoslavia), Dec 31: Yugoslav leaders have warned that Western military Intervention tn Bosnia will lead to all-out war. But even Britain's foreign secretary, a staunch opponent of military action, was'becoming hawkish, reports AP.

UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Chali on Wednesday appealed for any decision on military force to wait until a meeting Saturday in Geneva between the three warring factions: ethnic Serbs. Croats and Muslims.

Lt Gen Satish Nambtar of India, commander of 23,000 UN peacekeepers across Yugoslavia and its former re-publics, also argued for further negotiations. But he acknowledged international patience was growing thin.

There is a tolerance level which will break, and it is quite close to the breaking point," he told The Associated Press.

The failure of peace efforts has caused even staunch opponents of foreign intervention to rethink their options.

Britain's foreign secretary, Douglas Hurd, told The Daily Telegraph newspaper he could envision armed action against the Serbs. He still dismissed bombing of Serb targets.

Yugoslav President Dobrica Cosic claimed Serbs besieging Sarajevo were being hit by a major assault. UN officials have speculated that up to 10,000 government troops were ready to attack Serb rebels.

But the Bosnian capital re-

mained relatively calm Wednesday, with no sign that its Muslim-led defenders had launched a major offensive.

Sarajevo residents suffered nonetheless. UN- officials said at least eight people had died between Christmas and December 28 at a nursing home — victims of biting cold and sniper fire.

Temperatures remained below freezing in the city, which has been without electricity and water for three weeks. Residents have resorted to chopping down trees for firewood.

In Belgrade, the Yugoslav army chief of staff. Gen Zivola Panic predicted Western military intervention would only "spread the war."' He said his army was preparing to repel

any foreign military intervention.

A Paris reports adds: A majority of French favour military intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina, especially for humanitarian assistance, according to a poll published Wednesday.

Seventy-six per cent of those surveyed said there should be soldiers sent to the war-torn republic formerly in Yugoslavia to assure that humanitarian aid reaches the beleaguered population, said the study, conducted by the polling firm IFOP and the newspaper Le Parislen.

Seventy per cent said there should be military intervention to enforce a cease-fire, and 61 per cent said soldiers should forcibly end the fighting between Serbs and Croatians.