Serbia seeks arrests of former Bosnian commanders over war crimes

Serbia says it has issued international arrest warrants for two men suspected of war crimes while commanding Bosnian Muslim forces during the Balkans conflict. Naser Oric and Hakija Meholjic are alleged to have committed war crimes against Serbs in the Drina region of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992, the Serbian news agency Beta reported Tuesday. "Diffuse arrest warrants" for the men were issued by the Serbian Interpol office, said Bosnia's Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies. Both men are citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Oric was sentenced to two years in prison in 2006 after he was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of failing to prevent the deaths of five Bosnian Serb detainees and the mistreatment of 11 others between 1992 and 1993. An ICTY appeals courts overturned his conviction and acquitted him of all charges in 2008. Interpol will reportedly decide soon whether to issue "red notices" for the arrests of Oric and Meholjic. Oric recently asked the Bosnian government for protection from extradition to Serbia, charging that Serbia would "persecute him as long as he lived."