Former Commander of the Fifth Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RBiH) Atif Dudakovic has been arrested early this morning in an operation by the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) in Bihac. Dudakovic was arrested on suspicion of alleged war crimes, SIPA confirmed.

Apart from Dudakovic, several other persons have been arrested on suspicion of committing alleged crimes against Serbs during the Bosnian war 1992-1995.

They were all arrested on the order of the State Prosecution.

The State Prosecution said that they arrested 11 other persons besides Dudakovic. They added that the arrested persons were all former commanders and members of the Fifth Corps of the RBiH Army, who were suspected of alleged war crimes during 1994 and 1995. Searches on 17 locations are underway.

“According to the Special War Crimes Department Prosecutor’s order, SIPA police officers arrested Atif Dudakovic, the former Commander of RBiH Army along with other members of the Fifth Corps, with the support of the Una-Sana Canton Interior Ministry and the Interior Ministry of Canton 10, persons under the investigation are suspected of criminal offences of Crimes Against Humanity under the Article 172 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the Prosecution said. “Atif Dudakovic is also suspected of the alleged criminal offences of War Crimes Against Civilians under Article 173 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

The conducted operation was the result of a long-lasting and thorough investigation of the Special War Crimes Department of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during which hundreds of witnesses were examined and several hundred pieces of evidence were collected, including the archived documents, videos, as well as evidence related to the exhumations and identification of the killed persons.

The war crimes that are subject of the investigation are related to the killing of hundreds of victims, civilians and captured Bosnian Serb soldiers from the area of the West-Krajina during 1995, as well as war crimes against the civilian population of Bosniak nationality, members of the Autonomous Province West Bosnia during 1994.