WORLD

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia--Serbs in Bosnia-Hercegovina proclaimed their own state yesterday in a move that raised fears of bloodshed in the multiethnic republic, but hopes increased that peace might hold in war-torn Croatia.

The chair of the European Community's peace conference on Yugoslavia, Lord Carrington, was optimistic that the latest U.N.-mediated truce would last in secessionist Croatia after the failure of 14 previous cease-fires.

"For the first time, it does look as if the cease-fire... will hold. And that is very good news," Carrington said after leaders from Yugoslavia's six republics resumed peace talks in Brussels, Belgium, after a monthlong recess.