The Montenegrin government has demanded that the Yugoslav Army dismantle a border checkpoint that it set up on Tuesday, effectively blocking traffic with Croatia.

The Prime Minister, Filip Vujanovic, said Montenegro had not been involved in or forewarned of the army's incursion into Croatian territory on Tuesday.

The pro-Western government in the republic, which is Serbia's partner in the Yugoslav Federation, says the Yugoslav military is seeking to undermine its authority and has voiced alarm about a rally called tomorrow in the capital, Podgorica, by the main opposition party which supports President Milosevic.

Meanwhile the Croatian Foreign Minister, Mate Granic, said Croatia would protect its interests on the border. He spoke as the Montenegrins confirmed that a Croatian journalist, Antun Masle, had been arrested by the Yugoslav military police after crossing into Montenegro from Albania.