SFOR Searches for Karadzic in Former Bosnian Serb Stronghold

SFOR troops seized an unspecified amount of weapons and ammunition from Radovan Karadzic's house in Pale during a sweep targeting the most wanted war crimes indictee from the 1992-1995 conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Peacekeepers also found documents that they hope will help capture the fugitive. Two people were detained for questioning.

"We searched two premises this morning, including the house of Radovan Karadzic, but found no evidence that he was there,'' SFOR spokesman Lieutenant Matthew Brock said Sunday (11 January).

The operation, which began early Saturday and is expected to end Monday, targets indicted war crimes suspects and their supporters.

NATO-led peacekeepers arrived in Pale, about 16 km southeast of Sarajevo, after receiving a tip, which suggested the wartime Bosnian Serb leader might be in need of medical help. They searched all medical facilities in the town, including the medical practice of Karadzic's daughter, Sonja, as well as a church, a cultural centre and private buildings. They also set up checkpoints and searched vehicles.

Brock did not disclose the amount of weapons and ammunition confiscated from the home of Karadzic's wife, Liljana. He said he hoped the documentation found during the house search "would lead to success in our future operations".

Captain Dennis Thaagaard, who took part in the sweep, said peacekeepers found evidence that Karadzic "had contacted his family and his inner support network".

During the operation, peacekeepers detained two people. Declining to reveal their identities, SFOR spokesman Captain David Sullivan said "all detainments are key in the hunt for this individual and his known supporters".

Brock said one of the men, detained outside a hotel, "may be linked to Karadzic". Witnesses, the AP reported, identified him as Bata Tesic, a former member of the Bosnian Serb special police and a known Karadzic supporter. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a local police official identified the second man as Dragan Kremenovic, a businessman from Pale.

The UN war crimes tribunal has indicted Karadzic for his role in the war. He has been charged with genocide in connection with the Sarajevo siege and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of more than 7,000 Muslim boys and men. Karadzic's wartime military commander, Ratko Mladic, also faces genocide charges over Srebrenica. Both men have been on the run for about eight years now, managing to elude several attempts at their capture. Karadzic is believed to be hiding in the mountainous areas in eastern BiH and in neighbouring Montenegro, while Mladic is reportedly in Serbia.

SFOR's move is part of stepped-up efforts to bring Karadzic and other fugitive war crimes suspects to justice. Several months ago, the international community froze the bank accounts and imposed visa restrictions on members of Karadzic's family and on his support network. It has also called for stronger co-operation on the part of Bosnian Serb authorities.

"NATO troops will not rest until The Hague tribunal fugitives are detained," SFOR Commander General Virgil Packett told Radio Free Europe only days before the weekend operation. "We will leave no stone unturned, we will search every forest to find them and send them where they belong, to The Hague tribunal," he said. Criticising the authorities for lack of willpower, Packett urged them to "wake up and take action to arrest Karadzic and the others." The problem, he said, is a small but strong group that continues helping fugitives evade justice.

Rank	Location	Receipts	Donors/Avg	Freepers/Avg	Monthlies
17	Tennessee	660.00	17	38.82	317	2.08	91.00	10

NATO troops end failed swoop for Karadzic | 18:28 | Reuters

PALE -- Monday – NATO-led troops ended a three-day search on Monday that failed to net top Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic on what may have been a medical visit to his old stronghold.

NATO insisted the operation in Pale - the first in almost two years after a two-day raid in a remote eastern village at the end of February 2002 - was a success, saying information gathered would help its hunt in the future.

Captain Dave Sullivan, a spokesman for the NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR), said the joint operation with the Bosnian Serb Republic's police ended on Monday afternoon.

German troops controlling traffic in Pale completely withdrew from the winter spa, some 16 kilometres (10 miles) southeast of Sarajevo, at about 4 p.m. local time (1500 GMT).

"This operation was a success," Sullivan said. "We collected valuable information that will support future operations to continue our search for persons indicted for war crimes."

The swoop - in which about 200 US, British, Italian, German and Bulgarian troops took part - started on Saturday, triggered by a tip that double genocide indictee Karadzic was injured and had sought medical help in his wartime capital.

Acting on information that one of the world's most wanted men had contacted family and supporters, troops searched his wife's house and church and hospital buildings. They said they detained a "supporter", an ex-paramilitary policeman.

But NATO offered no confirmation Karadzic had been in the vicinity - a high risk, closely watched location within easy reach of NATO forces.

Karadzic and his wartime military chief Ratko Mladic were both indicted by the UN war crimes court for the 1992-5 siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslims.

Karadzic is often reported to be hiding in eastern Bosnia.

His wife Ljiljana on Sunday said it seemed troops who searched her home's septic tank were expecting to catch Karadzic hiding like former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, whom US forces found in a hole in the ground last month.

A NATO official in Brussels, who asked not to be named, rejected a suggestion that the raid meant a switch in tactics to the more aggressive approach used by U.S. troops in Iraq.

"But it does show that the capture of Karadzic is very much on NATO's agenda and that before we wind down in Bosnia this remains unfinished business," said the official.

Karadzic had to "be aware that he cannot hope that with the passage of time we will forget about him".

Sarajevo-based political analyst Antonio Prlenda said it seemed the alliance had thought they were close.

"What I heard is that they monitored his communications and they believed they were close to him. But the question is whether the information arrived in time," he said.

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