Former army commander, 12 others detained in Bosnia over war crimes

Police in Bosnia on Friday detained a former Bosnian army commander and 12other people on suspicion of war crimes against Serb and Bosnian civilians and prisoners during the 1992-95 war.

Atif Dudakovic and other commanders and members of the wartime Bosnian army's 5th Corps were detained in early morning raids in several towns, the Bosnian prosecutor's office said.

Dudakovic and others are suspected of atrocities against hundreds of Serbs and Bosniaks in northwestern Bosnia, the statement said.

It added that the case against the group is based on hundreds of testimonies, video footage and other evidence.

Dudakovic's arrest is sensitive for Bosnia because he was in charge of the northwestern Bihac area which was under Serb siege during most of the conflict.

The 64-year-old former general became the Bosnian army commander after the war and remains highly respected and popular.

"We are shocked," said Dzevad Malkoc, the official dealing with war veterans in the Bihac area. "This is a blow to the state, to all patriots who defended this state."

Mixed reaction

Reactionto Dudakovic's arrest reflected persisting ethnic divisions, withBosniaks criticizing the move andSerbs saying it is welcome, though late.

The Bosniak head of the three-member Bosnian Presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, warned in a statement against attempts to create "a false ethnic balance" in prosecuting war crimes.

He insisted the arrests presented an "unnecessary humiliation" because the suspects have co-operated with the investigation.

Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik said "relatives of the victims have been waiting for justice for 20 years."

The war started when Bosnia declared independence from Yugoslavia, triggering a rebellion by Bosnia's Serbs, who took control over more than half of the country seeking to merge with neighbouring Serbia.

A peace agreement for Bosnia was signed in 1995, but tensions between the country's Muslim Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats still persist. Today's Bosnia is comprised of a Serb entity and a Bosniak-Croat one.

In the Serb town of Banja Luka, Milorad Kojic, who heads a group investigating wartime crimes against Serbs, said they have submitted to the Bosnian prosecutors more than 8,000 pages of evidence against Dudakovic and others, including allegedly incriminating video footage.

The case relates to 256 victims, who were aged between nine and 99, Kojic said.

Around 100,000 people were killed in the Bosnian War and millions were left homeless.