SERBIA & MONTENEGRO: Bosnian Serb president Dragan Cavic has accused EU peacekeepers of operating under a "mandate to murder" after the wife of a war crimes suspect was shot dead during his arrest.
EU troops said they were fired upon while arresting Dragomir Abazovic on Thursday at his home in the village of Kozici, and his wife Rada and 12-year-old son Dragoljub were hit by bullets in the subsequent gun battle.
Rada (46) died in hospital due to blood loss from abdominal wounds; her son's condition was described as not life-threatening, while Dragomir (47) suffered serious head injuries when he shot himself, according to EU forces. "Nobody has a mandate to murder," Mr Cavic wrote in a letter of protest to the 6,500-strong EU taskforce, calling the operation "a manifestation of brutal force and a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights".
The taskforce said in a statement the operation was conducted in accordance with a 1999 warrant issued by a Sarajevo court for Mr Abazovic's arrest, for crimes allegedly committed during Bosnia's 1992-95 ethnic war.
Yesterday a taskforce statement said Rada and Dragoljub Abazovic had fired four clips from an AK-47 before an Italian soldier killed her and injured the boy. The EU soldiers acted with restraint and in self-defence and with courage in the face of great personal danger, the statement added.