Former Bosnian Serb army commander to face War Crimes Tribunal

A former Bosnian Serb army commander has been flown to The Hague to face trial for alleged war crimes after being arrested by international peacekeepers in Bosnia. Colonel Dragan Obrenovic is being questioned about the mass killing of thousands of Muslims in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995. He was in charge of a Bosnian Serb army brigade near Srebrenica at the time. The massacre was the worst atrocity of the Bosnian conflict.

Srebrenica was supposed to be a safe zone protected by the United Nations, but was overrun by Serb forces. In the aftermath, up to 8,000 Muslims and Croats were killed. Colonel Obrenevic was arrested last night in Bosnia and has been transferred to the Hague, where he will he be tried by the UN War Crimes Tribunal. His arrest was welcomed by the Bosnian Serb presidency.

The UN war crimes court has also welcomed the arrest. Chief war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said, "It's a welcome signal of the resumption of arrests by SFOR forces". The arrest comes just three weeks after confirmation of the indictment of Mr Obrenovic and is the first arrest since June. Last month Ms Del Ponte warned that the ICTY would be within its rights to raise the issue of the peacekeepers mandate at the UN Security Council "if they are not arresting fugitives ... in the next few months."

Dragan Obrenovic is the second suspect to appear before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in connection with the Srebrenica killings. Bosnian Serb General Radislav Kristic appeared there in December 1998. UN prosecutors say that they hope that Colonel Obrenovic's arrest will lead to others. The two men considered most responsible for the Srebrenica massacre - the Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadic, and his military chief, Ratko Mladic, are still at large.

There have been mass protests in Bosnia against Obrenovic's arrest. Thousands of people took to the streets of Zvornik today. The rally was organised by Bosnian Serb war veterans who read an open letter to Bosnian Serb leaders. In it they said, "We are embittered and deeply shocked by the brutal arrest of an honourable Serb officer."