The Yugoslav government has promised a stern response to the assassination of the country's defence minister, Pavle Bulatovic.

At a special government memorial service in Belgrade, the deputy prime minister, Nikola Sainovic, said that the struggle against terrorism was a sacred and state duty.

He described Mr Bulatovic -- a Montenegrin strongly opposed to the pro-Western government in his home republic -- as a patriot willing to risk his life for the defence of a unified Yugoslavia.

The BBC correspondent in Belgrade says that tough new anti-terrorism laws are expected.

She says the government is under increasing pressure to act on the growing atmosphere of lawlessness in Serbia. Mr Bulatovic, who was a staunch supporter of President Milosevic, was killed on Monday by unidentified gunmen in a Belgrade restaurant.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service