21.   NATO said the arrests could provoke Serb retaliation, and the Serbs suspended contact with the Bosnian government.

22.   NATO said the arrests, severely straining the tenuous peace process, could provoke Serb retaliation.

23.   Pro-Iranian guerrillas attacked Israeli-backed militiamen Tuesday, provoking artillery retaliation on the third straight day of fighting in south Lebanon, security sources said.

24.   The attacks could provoke retaliation by Yugoslav army and Serb police forces, which normally respond quickly to KLA attacks.

25.   The U.N. has refused to sanction tougher measures through fear of provoking Serb retaliation.

26.   The Syrian official blamed Israel for the latest hostilities in south Lebanon, saying its bombardment of Lebanese villages had provoked retaliation from guerrilla groups in the region.

27.   The president issued his most vigorous condemnation yet of the parliament attack, which India says was backed by Pakistani intelligence and could provoke retaliation.

28.   This compromise was accepted over the objections of EU Trade Commissioner Leon Brittan, who believes it breaks international subsidy rules and could provoke retaliation from the United States.

29.   The rebels fired on the eight-storey Sofitel hotel, provoking retaliation from French troops.