Top brass fired over Karadzic
2004-06-30 12:56
Banja Luka, Bosnia-Hercegovina - The top international representative to Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown, sacked two leading Bosnian Serb officials on Wednesday for failing to arrest top war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic.
Interior Minister Zoran Djeric and parliamentary speaker Dragan Kalinic were dismissed under far-reaching powers granted to Ashdown's office by the 1995 Dayton peace accords, officials said.
Ashdown is expected to announce the dismissals and other sanctions against Bosnian Serb officials at a press conference later on Wednesday in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.
He warned on Tuesday that measures would be taken against Bosnian Serb officials believed to be protecting Karadzic, the Balkans' top war crimes fugitive, who has been on the run since 1996.