Two Belgrade newspapers reported at the weekend that two Serbs wanted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague were ready to give themselves up, a move that would relieve some of the international pressure on the country.

A third newspaper said it had indications "from government sources" that the case of top fugitive Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb Army commander wanted for genocide, would be resolved one way or another by the end of next month.

Bringing war crimes suspects to book is an acid test of the credibility of Serbia's reform movement, as the country seeks foreign investment and readmission to international institutions plus membership of the European Union and Nato.

Reports on the fate of alleged war criminals are regular fare in the Serbian press, but they have proliferated since pro-Western Democrat Boris Tadic won the presidency last month, pledging to ensure his country cooperates with the UN tribunal.

Mr Tadic visited Washington for talks last week. The daily Kurir on Saturday said former Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic, who vanished as soon as his indictment was handed over to Serbia on July 13, was not on the run but simply getting his affairs in order prior to turning himself in.

Yesterday, the tabloid Nacional followed up with a report that Sreten Lukic, one of four Serb generals indicted last year for alleged crimes in Kosovo, was preparing to surrender to the tribunal early next month.

"General Lukic has no intention of running away and hiding. He's in contact with the Serbian police," Nacional quoted a close friend as saying, without giving any name.

"As soon as he gets an invitation from the court, he'll appear voluntarily. He has accepted his fate and prepared his family on everything he's facing, although he doesn't think he's guilty of The Hague prosecutor's charges."

There was no official comment on these reports, which coincided with the ninth anniversary of the indictments against Mladic and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, both dodging capture since the Bosnian war ended in late 1995.