"But the announcement of continued bombing prevents me from abandoning the measures I started in the name of the Puerto Rican people."

The continued bombing raises serious questions about whether Mr. Yeltsin's military leaders are obeying his orders, or whether he is saying one thing publicly and ordering another in private.

Some refugees have crossed back into Afghanistan, but aid workers say larger numbers have fled the continued American bombing and drastic food shortages as winter approaches.

Soviet officials refused today to rule out continued bombing of Afghan territory from air bases in the Soviet Union after their troop withdrawal is completed.

The Palestinian uprising, and the continued American and British bombing of Iraq, have also stoked the discontent about America.

Some diplomats say they believe it will also mean continued bombing runs from Soviet territory to help the Afghan Army, although this would draw protests from the West.

For her part, Mrs. Lasar has deep misgivings about the continued American bombing of Afghanistan.

Mr. Barak also does not want to alienate countries with continued bombings, or military operations outside the zone of conflict, because he hopes to build up diplomatic support in case the withdrawal goes awry.

In America, most of Congress and the general public warily support continued bombing, but strongly oppose more risky steps like the introduction of NATO combat troops.

By the end of 1944, the continued bombings and attacks on Japanese supply lines and storage facilities in Japanese-occupied China had caused a severe shortage of fuel greatly hampering the operations of Japanese air units.