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CNN spoke to three Israeli whistleblowers who worked at the Sde Teiman desert camp, which holds Palestinians detained during Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Reports of abuse at Sde Teiman have already surfaced in Israeli and Arab media after an outcry from Israeli and Palestinian rights groups over conditions there. CNN has requested permission from the Israeli military to access the Sde Teiman base. The account tallied with details of a letter authored by a doctor working at Sde Teiman published by Ha’aretz in April. The structure, which resembles an animal pen, is located in the central area of the Sde Teiman compound.

Persons: Sde Teiman, ”, “, –, Ofer, Patrick Gallagher, Adnan al, Bursh –, Mohammed al, Ran, ” Dr, Mohammed Al, Shawish, abasement, “ You’d, Teiman, Ha’aretz, Israel, Ray, Tal Steiner, ” Steiner, – Ofer, West Bank –, Ibrahim Yassine, Abu Salah, Al, Barbara Arvanitidis, Tamara Qiblawi, Matthew Chance OSINT, Allegra Goodwin, Alex Platt, Abeer Salman, Ami Kaufman, Kareem Khadder, Mohammad Al Sawalhi, Carlotta Dotto, Lou Robinson, Mark Oliver, Tom James, Sarah Tilotta, Mark Baron, Julie Zink, Augusta Anthony Motion, Yukari Schrickel, Laura Smith, Eliza Mackintosh, Dan Wright, Matt Wells Editor’s, Matthew Chance, Al Hilou Organizations: Israel CNN —, CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Military, IDF, West Bank, Bosnian, Ahli Baptist Hospital, Social Media, CNN Al, “, Ha’aretz, for Human Rights, Nasser Hospital, Planet Labs PBC Planet, Planet Labs, Palestinian Red Crescent Society Locations: Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Al, Ahli, Israel’s, “, London, Sde, Jerusalem

☆ 20 eerie photos that show what happened to Sarajevo's Olympic venues after the 1984 Winter Games
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Gabbi Shaw | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, hosted the Winter Olympics in 1984. Forty years after the Games, many of the Olympic venues have remained abandoned. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. During the fighting, Olympic venues became battlegrounds, as ski slopes were heavily mined and hotels were turned into prisons. Here's what the 1984 Sarajevo Olympic venues look like in 2024.

Persons: —, it's Organizations: Bosnian, Service, Reuters, P Locations: Sarajevo, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Yugoslavian, Moscow, Yugoslav, Yugoslavia, Olympics, Paris

☆ A Land Once Emptied by War Now Faces a Peacetime Exodus
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Andrew Higgins | Vladimir Zivojinovic | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than half the villagers were fellow Muslims, the rest Serbs, but nobody, he said, paid much attention to that until extremist politicians started screaming for blood. After more than a decade away from his home in eastern Bosnia, the farmer, Fikret Puhalo, 61, returned to his village, Socice. By then it had 100 or so people, Serbs who had stayed throughout and a few Muslims who had decided it was safe to go back. “Everyone else died or moved away,” said Mr. Puhalo, gesturing to empty homes scattered across the rocky hills around the family land where he grazes his sheep. “Not a single child has been born here since I returned,” he said.

Persons: Fikret Puhalo, ”, Puhalo Locations: Bosnian, Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Socice

☆ The top UN court has ruled on Gaza genocide case. Here's what happens now
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Dalya Al Masri | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The hearing of Israel's defense at the International Court of Justice on Jan. 12, 2024, in the Hague, Netherlands. Dursun Aydemir | Anadolu | Getty ImagesLast month, the International Court of Justice ruled on South Africa's legal case accusing Israel of genocide. Legal proceedings began after the African country submitted cause for emergency measures in Gaza, leading to a two-day hearing, with testimonies from the South African and Israeli legal teams. Israel rebuffed the allegations of genocide at the World Court and accused South Africa of being used as a legal cover for Hamas. "It is this obligation that informed our application to the International Court of Justice to halt the violence unleashed by Israel on the Gaza Strip," Magwenya added.

Persons: Dursun, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Francesca Albanese, Albanese, Vincent Magwenya, Cyril Ramaphosa, Magwenya Organizations: International Court, Justice, Anadolu, Getty, International Court of Justice, CNBC, World, Serbia —, ICJ, South, Israel, CNBC Sunday, The Hague, Palestinian Health Ministry, Hamas, Bosnian Locations: Hague, Netherlands, Gaza, Israel, South Africa, Serbia, Africa, The, Turkey, Jordan, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Russia, Ukraine, Bosnian, Bosnia

The bodies have all been retrieved from the river since 2017 and buried in local cemeteries in three border towns of eastern Bosnia. Dr. Vidak Simic examined more than 40 corpses of migrants and refugees so far retrieved from the river. Under local laws, bone samples are taken from unidentified bodies before they are buried in paupers' graves. However, Simic has been keeping the unnamed migrants’ bone samples long past the time required by the law. At the cemetery in Bijeljina, where nearly half of all the unidentified migrants pulled out of Drina so far are buried, 41 trees were planted and a memorial for the drowned was erected.

Persons: ”, Nihad Suljic, Suljic, Vidak Simic, Simic, Simic —, ” Simic, Radul Radovanovic Organizations: Migrants, European Union, Western, Police, Associated Press Locations: BIJELJINA, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia, Western Europe, Bosnian, East, Africa, South Asia, Europe, Balkan, Tuzla, Balkans, Montenegro, Croatia, Drina, Zvornik, Bijeljina, paupers, Municipal, Vienna

☆ Trial of Bosnian Serb Leader Dodik Formally Begins After Delays
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - The trial of Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik on charges of defying the rulings of an international peace envoy formally begun on Monday after delays due to his protests against judges he said were biased and other complaints. The trial is taking place at Bosnia´s state court in the capital Sarajevo. The state court dismissed Bubic's earlier requests for eight judges to be exempted from the case over alleged political biases against Dodik. Asked if he has understood the indictment, Dodik said he did not understand any part of it and that it represented a "distortion of facts". "It has not been backed by a single fact, it was done under political pressure by incompetent prosecutors," Dodik told the judge.

Persons: Milorad Dodik, Dodik, Goran Bubic, Sena Uzunovic, Judge Uzunovic, Christian Schmidt, Schmidt, Bubic's, Dodik's, Gordana Bosiljcic, ´, Dodik ´, Daria Sito, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Bosnia, High, United Nations Security Council Locations: SARAJEVO, Bosnian, Bosnia, Serb Republic, German, Sarajevo, Republic

A key part of that lofty aspiration was the drafting of a convention that codified and committed nations to prevent and punish a new crime, sometimes called the crime of crimes: genocide. Now, in response to Israel's devastating military offensive in Gaza that was triggered by murders and atrocities perpetrated by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, South Africa has gone to the International Court of Justice and accused Israel of genocide. The ICC prosecutes individuals and is separate to the International Court of Justice, which rules in disputes between nations. At public hearings earlier this month and in its detailed written submission to the ICJ, South Africa cited comments by Israeli officials that it claimed demonstrate intent. Both Gambia and South Africa have filed ICJ cases in conflicts they are not directly involved in.

Persons: Reich, Mary Ellen O’Connell, Notre Dame University's, Israel, “, Joan E, Donoghue, ”, Marieke de Hoon, Said O’Connell, Malcolm Shaw, Serbia “, —, Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, Jean Paul Akayesu, Omar al, Bashir, Danica Kirka Organizations: —, United Nations, Nazi, Notre Dame, Notre Dame University's Kroc, International Court of, Criminal, ICC, International Court of Justice, University of Amsterdam, of Islamic Cooperation, Rwanda —, Yugoslav, Bosnian, Associated Locations: HAGUE, Netherlands, Nazi Germany, Germany, Eastern Europe, Russia, Gaza, South Africa, Israel, Pretoria, Africa, ”, Rome, Serbia, Srebrenica, Bosnian, Moscow, Ukraine, Gambia, Myanmar, That's, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Arusha, Tanzania, Darfur, Cambodia, Khmer Rouge, London

☆ NATO's Stoltenberg concerned by secessionist rhetoric in Bosnia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Daria Sito-Sucic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg shakes hands with Bosnian Prime Minister Borjana Kristo during his visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 20, 2023. Bosnia emerged from a 1992-1995 war with a federal structure uniting a Serb-dominated republic with a federation of Croats and Bosniak Muslims. "We are concerned by secessionist and divisive rhetoric as well as .. foreign interference including Russia," Stoltenberg told reporters in Sarajevo, his first stop during a tour of the Western Balkans region. NATO has warned about risks for Bosnia from foreign interference, particularly from Russia, and agreed to help to shore up its ability to defend itself. Every country has the right to choose its security arrangements without foreign interference," Stoltenberg said after meeting the chairwoman of Bosnia's Council of Ministers, Borjana Kristo.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Borjana Kristo, Amel, Milorad Dodik, Stoltenberg, Christian Schmidt, " Stoltenberg, Borjana, Daria Sito, Toby Chopra, Peter Graff Organizations: NATO, Bosnian, REUTERS, Rights, Representative, UN Security Council, Bosnia's, Ministers, Thomson Locations: Sarajevo, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Rights SARAJEVO, Serbia, Russia, Western Balkans, Yugoslavia, masse, EU, Ukraine, Balkans, Bosnian, Russian Bosnian Serbs

☆ Bosnian, Palestinian Gaza evacuees arrive in Bosnia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Daria Sito-Sucic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Palestinians holding Bosnian citizenship and their relatives arrive at Sarajevo after having been evacuated to Egypt from Gaza, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 20, 2023. Another group of 11 Gaza evacuees was set to arrive later on Monday, Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic told reporters. "I have been in the Gaza Strip for 40 days of war," said Khaled Mosleh, a Palestinian with Bosnian residence who went to Gaza to visit a sick mother and got stuck there. Mosleh graduated from the Sarajevo medical school and lives in Bosnia with a Bosnian wife and five children. While happy to reunite with his Bosnian family, Mosleh said his heart was bleeding for his Gaza family.

Persons: Daria Sucic Sito, Elmedin Konakovic, Khaled Mosleh, Mosleh, Halid, Imad Sehada, Sumeja, Daria Sito, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Bosnian, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Sarajevo, Egypt, Gaza, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Rights SARAJEVO, Bosnian, Rafah

In a series of reports on countries wanting to join the bloc's ranks, the EU’s executive branch recommended that war-ravaged Ukraine should be permitted to open membership talks, once it’s addressed some shortfalls. “Moldova is the subject of constant destabilization efforts against its democracy,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. For 20 years, the prospect of EU membership has been a powerful driver of pro-democratic reform in aspiring countries. The commission said that it should only start membership talks after more progress is made. The country started its EU membership talks in 2005, but they have ground to a halt in recent years.

Persons: it’s, “, Ursula von der Leyen, ”, von der Leyen, Turkey's, backsliding Organizations: —, European Union, European Commission, Georgia, EU, Kosovo –, Kyiv “ Locations: BRUSSELS, — Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Brussels, Hungary, Slovakia, Balkans, Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnian, Turkey, Europe

☆ Bosnia FA sanctioned by UEFA over crowd trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO:Soccer Football - Euro 2028 & Euro 2032 Hosts Announcement - Nyon, Switzerland - October 10, 2023 The UEFA logo is pictured at the headquarters ahead of the announcement REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 25 (Reuters) - UEFA has sanctioned the Bosnian Football Association (NFSBIH) for crowd disturbances at their recent Euro 2024 qualifying games, European soccer's governing body said on Wednesday. UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body fined Bosnia 20,000 euros ($21,000) and ordered the partial closure of their stadium for their next home match for the discriminatory behaviour of their supporters during the game against Portugal. They have also been fined 26,000 euros for the blocking of public passageways, throwing of objects and invasion of the pitch at the match on Oct. 16. Bosnia have also been fined 20,000 euros and received a ban on selling tickets to supporters for their next competitive away game for the lighting and throwing of fireworks during the match in Liechtenstein on Oct. 13. ($1 = 0.9459 euros)Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Trevor Stynes, Ed Osmond Organizations: Football, UEFA, Bosnian Football Association, UEFA's, Bosnia, Portugal, Thomson Locations: Nyon, Switzerland, Bosnia, Liechtenstein

☆ Opinion: A path to peace in Middle East is possible. Here’s how
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Opinion Miriam Sapiro | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

She has served at the National Security Council, at the State Department as a negotiator for the Bosnia Peace Accords, and as Deputy US Trade Representative. A similarly firm hand — and robust US leadership — will also be necessary for any peace deal to be forged in the Middle East. Similarly, Hamas’ current leadership would certainly not be welcome at the table should Mideast peace talks resume. That should compel them to help increase isolation of Hamas as well as play an active and useful role in future peace talks. With the key players thinking strategically and acting tactically — as eventually happened in Bosnia — peace in the Middle East may have a chance.

Persons: Miriam Sapiro, Miriam Sapiro Sard, Biden’s, Bosnians, —, ’, Madeleine Albright, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Organizations: Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security Council, State Department, Accords, US Trade Representative, CNN CNN, Hamas, US, UN, Bosnian, Bosnian Serbs, —, Belgrade, West Bank, Bosnia Contact, EU, United Arab, CNN, Twitter, Palestinian, European Union, Bank, Authority Locations: Bosnia, Israel, Balkans, Yugoslavia, Bosnian, Washington, Dayton , Ohio, — Serbia, Croatia, Dayton, Gaza, Saudi Arabia, United States, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, America, Iran, Oslo Accords, Ramallah

☆ Report calls for action on sexual violence in Russia's war on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The world must learn from the mistakes made after the war in Bosnia to avoid putting Ukrainian victims of rape and conflict-related sexual violence through decades of trauma, a new expert report has warned. Prey said that when considering survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, it is crucial to put aside biases and stigma and make sure everyone who is impacted is included. “We often think sexual violence is a crime that only happens to women, but it’s a crime that happens to everyone. “If we don’t really think about conflict-related sexual violence enough, then we especially don’t think about children born of wartime rape. “And survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, they deserve more than that.

Persons: ”, Emily Prey, “, …, Vladimir Putin, Prey Organizations: CNN, United Nations, New Lines Institute, Strategy, Dayton Peace Accords, Dayton Accords Locations: Bosnia, Ukraine, Bosnian, Russia, US, Dayton, UN’s, Montenegro, Lithuania, Germany, Sweden, Spain

☆ EU Troops Confront Would-Be Rioters in Exercise Echoing Bosnia Political Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - As a group of would-be protesters grows, shouting and blowing their whistles at the EU force's camp in Sarajevo, a military aircraft flies low and helicopters take off, all as part of a EUFOR exercise echoing the current political crisis in Bosnia. Dodik, a pro-Russian nationalist, has long sought to separate the Serb-dominated part of Bosnia from the rest of it. EUFOR replaced NATO troops in Bosnia in 2004 with a mandate to stabilise the ethnically divided country. Last year, days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU decided to almost double the size of its peacekeeping force from 600 troops by sending in reserves to ward off any potential instability. NATO and senior EU officials have warned that instability from the war in Ukraine could spread to the Western Balkans.

Persons: Milorad Dodik, Vladimir Putin, Helmut Habermayer, Habermayer, EUFOR, Daria Sito, Hugh Lawson Organizations: EU, Bosnian, NATO Locations: SARAJEVO, Sarajevo, Bosnia, Bosnian Serbs, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Balkans

The Holbrooke award, named for the late U.S. diplomat, is presented by the Ohio-based Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation. In 1995, Holbrooke helped broker the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the Bosnian War, a conflict Cisneros has thought of often. Civilians and unborn generations ever after suffer with the shrapnel of that conflict embedded in their psyche like hidden landmines. I just returned from Sarajevo, and I know this is true,” Cisneros said in a statement. Previous recipients of the Holbrooke award include Elie Wiesel, Margaret Atwood and Louise Erdrich.

Persons: Sandra Cisneros, Richard C, Holbrooke, ” Cisneros, Alfredo Cisneros, Cisneros, “, Carla Hayden, Elie Wiesel, Margaret Atwood, Louise Erdrich Organizations: Macondo Foundation, Moral Foundation, Dayton, Dayton Peace Accords Locations: Mango, U.S, Ohio, Dayton, Bosnian, Sarajevo

☆ Wild horses prosper on Serbia's Mt. Stolovi
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Slavljub Nikolic is seen with a wild horse on the mountain Stolovi in Serbia, August 31, 2023. REUTERS/Zorana Jevtic Acquire Licensing RightsSTOLOVI, Serbia, Sept 1 (Reuters) - A herd of about 40 mares, stallions and foals graze lazily on dry grass over the rugged Stolovi mountain in Serbia's southwest, one out of three such bands of wild horses in the Balkan country. The horses, mainly from the sturdy Bosnian Mountain Horse breed used as pack animals and in agriculture, were brought to Mt. Away from humans, the animals gradually became feral, reverting to behaviour more closely resembling that of wild horses, 73-year-old farmer Slavoljub Nikolic said on Thursday. The Stolovi herd is the second biggest in Serbia.

Persons: Slavljub Nikolic, Zorana, Slavoljub Nikolic, " Nikolic, Nikolic, Aleksandar Vasovic, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Serbia, Serbia's, Balkan, Mt, Stolovi, Suva Planina

☆ Bosnian girl creates 'folklore Barbie' as film wins doll new fans worldwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Daria Sito-Sucic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Esma Gljiva, an 11-year-old Bosnian girl, shows dolls that she dresses in traditional Bosnian costumes, hoping that her folklore Barbie will reach many, as the frenzy surrounding the launch of the "Barbie" movie spreads across the world, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 15, 2023. Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreSARAJEVO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - A Bosnian girl is making traditional Balkan costumes with headdresses and decorative aprons for Barbie dolls, hoping to create interest in her folklore Barbie as the new "Barbie" movie wins fans worldwide. Eleven-year-old Esma Gljiva from Sarajevo started her project more than a month ago after seeing poor quality figures in a souvenir shop. Esma has yet to see the Barbie movie, but her friends and family say she embodies the spirit of female independence and entrepreneurship that dominates the film. She says she would name her dolls the "Bosnian Barbie dolls"and she is planning costumes for a Bosnian folklore Ken.

Persons: Barbie, Esma, Ken, Daria Sito, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Reuters, Christian, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Bosnian, Sarajevo, Bosnia, Herzegovina, SARAJEVO, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Turkmenistan, Norway, Britain, Adana

☆ Sarajevo Film Festival opens with tribute to music and movies in times of war
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Daria Sito-Sucic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Sarajevo Film Festival, which was founded towards the end of the Bosnian war by a group of film enthusiasts, has become southeastern Europe's largest such event, showcasing 235 films this year. After the end of the Bosnian war, in 1997, U2 staged a huge concert in Sarajevo, which Bono ended by urging the crowd to "Kiss the Future". "Culture was one of the main things that gave us the power to survive that period," said Mirsad Purivatra, a founder of both the wartime cinema and the Sarajevo Film Festival. He described how people would pack into the basement to attend cultural events and meet friends, rushing home before curfew. Images of filmgoers and the underground rock shows by photographer Milomir Kovacevic Strasni are being displayed for an exhibition taking place to mark the 30th anniversary of the Apollo wartime cinema as part of the film festival.

Persons: Dado, Bono, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Mirsad Purivatra, Milomir Kovacevic, Daria Sito, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Sarajevo Film, Cinema, Hollywood, Academy of Performing Arts, Apollo, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Sarajevo, Bosnia, Herzegovina, SARAJEVO, Bosnian

☆ Neretva River: Scientists are fighting to save the ‘blue heart’ of Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Bosnia and Herzegovina CNN —The Neretva River carves its way through Bosnia and Herzegovina’s impenetrable forest. The Neretva River flows 140 miles (225 kilometers) from its source in the mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. Nell Lewis/CNN Scientists warn that hydropower plants could have a detrimental effect on the region's biodiversity. Nell Lewis/CNN Scientists, concerned about the effects of the proposed hydropower plants, gathered on the banks of the Neretva in June as part of the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign. This has taken its toll on wildlife, with one in three freshwater fish species threatened with extinction.

Persons: Joshua D, Lim, Marco Secchi, Ursi Seibert, Nell Lewis, Vladimir Tadic, Linda Majdanová, ”, Ulrich Eichelmann, “ It’s, ” Ulrich Eichelmann, Kurt Pinter, Pinter, it’s, ” Radomir Sladoje, “, GENT SHKULLAKU Organizations: CNN, Herzegovina CNN, Center for Environment, Center of Environment, “ Neretva Science, Science, EU, Developers, EFT Group, Neretva Science, Getty, Bern Convention Locations: Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bosnian, Balkans, Adriatic, Croatia, Mostar, Herzegovina's, Kalinovik, Neretva, Linda, “ Neretva, “, Balkan, Europe, EU, Ulog, Vienna, Austria, Albania, GENT, AFP, Bern

☆ Serb victims commemorated in Bosnia town infamous for killings of non-Serbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A building is seen at the former Trnopolje detention camp near Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File PhotoAug 4 (Reuters) - Serbia and Bosnia's Serb Republic on Friday marked the 1995 exodus of Serbs from Croatia in a Bosnian town notorious for Serb war crimes during the Bosnian war, triggering outcry from survivors and human rights activists. "This is an ugly political message," said Gordana Katana, a journalist and activist from the Serb Republic's city of Banja Luka. Many Bosniak survivors feel hurt that victims from another state are commemorated in the town in which Bosniak victims have been ignored. Local Serb authorities have for years rejected pleas to raise a monument to the 102 children killed in Prijedor.

Persons: Dado, Gordana Katana, Satko Mujagic, Milorad Dodik, Aleksandar Vucic, Dodik, Daria Sito, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Bosnia's, Croatian, Local, Serbian, Thomson Locations: Prijedor, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia, Bosnia's Serb Republic, Croatia, Bosnian, Republic's, Banja Luka, Yugoslav, Slovenia, Belgrade, Croatian, Serb Republic

☆ U.S. sanctions four Bosnian Serb top officials for undermining peace deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Daria Sito-Sucic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SARAJEVO, July 31 (Reuters) - The United States on Monday imposed sanctions against four top Bosnian Serb officials, including the Serb member of the country's presidency, for undermining a U.S.-sponsored peace deal that ended the Balkan country's war in the 1990s. The constitution is part of the Dayton peace accords that ended the 1992-1995 Bosnian war in which 100,000 were killed, dividing the country into two autonomous regions, the Serb Republic and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, linked via a weak central government. Late in June, lawmakers in the Serb Republic voted to suspend rulings by Bosnia's constitutional court, a vote initiated by the region's separatist pro-Russian President Milorad Dodik who is already under U.S. and UK sanctions. "This action threatens the stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the hard-won peace underpinned by the Dayton Peace Agreement," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. They stepped up activities undermining state institutions in recent months, including suspension of decisions by an international peace envoy.

Persons: Bosnia's, Zeljka Cvijanovic, Matthew Miller, Milorad Dodik, Radovan Viskovic, Milos Bukejlovic, Nenad Stevandic, Brian E, Nelson, Cvijanovic, Stevandic, Radovan Kovacevic, Dodik, Daria Sito, Nick Macfie Organizations: Bosnian, U.S . State Department, - Croat Federation, Russian, U.S . Department of, Treasury, Terrorism, Financial, Dodik, Thomson Locations: SARAJEVO, United States, U.S, Serb Republic, Bosnian, Dayton, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia

☆ Kosovo bridge divers overcome fear to 'fly' in annual competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Evald Krnic, a diver from Montenegro, jumps from a bridge during a competition on the White Drin River, near the town of Gjakova, Kosovo July 23, 2023. REUTERS/Fatos BytyciURA E FSHEJT, Kosovo, July 24 (Reuters) - With arms outstretched like bird's wings in the traditional "swallow style", Evald Krnic plunged more than 20 metres from a bridge in southern Kosovo into the cold White Drin river. "You don't just jump; you fly," he told Reuters after winning first place in the bridge-diving competition, an annual event held for the past 73 years and drawing both amateurs and professionals. "The beauty of this sport lies in conquering that fear and taking the leap." Krnic was also the winner last year in the Bosnian town of Mostar where he jumped 22 meters from an old bridge into the river below.

Persons: FSHEJT, Krnic, Fatos, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Montenegro, Gjakova, Kosovo, Bosnian, Mostar

☆ Bosnia envoy revokes Bosnian Serb laws defying the state, peace deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Daria Sito-Sucic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SARAJEVO, July 1 (Reuters) - Bosnia's international peace overseer, Christian Schmidt, on Saturday annulled two laws that Bosnian Serb parliament had adopted defying the constitution and the terms of a peace deal that ended the Balkan country's war in the 1990s. Schmidt, who as international High Representative in Bosnia has powers to impose laws and sack obstructive officials, also amended a law so that those seen as attacking the state institutions can be criminally prosecuted. "Recent decisions by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska directly violate the constitutional order of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Dayton peace agreement," Schmidt told a news conference in Sarajevo. The Serbs say they do not recognise Schmidt, who was appointed in 2021, as the high representative because the U.N. Security Council did not endorse his appointment. The U.S. embassy welcomed Schmidt's decisions, agreeing that he was defending the Dayton peace deal and the constitution upholding the rule of law in Bosnia.

Persons: Christian Schmidt, Schmidt, Milorad Dodik, Dodik, Daria Sito, Louise Heavens Organizations: Bosnian Serb, Representative, National Assembly, Russian, . Security, United States, Thomson Locations: SARAJEVO, Bosnian, Bosnia, Republika Srpska, Herzegovina, Dayton, Sarajevo, Republic, Serb Republic, United States, United Kingdom, U.S

☆ Attack on Vienna's pride parade prevented, security services say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VIENNA, June 18 (Reuters) - Austrian security services said on Sunday they had thwarted a planned attack on Saturday's pride parade in the capital. "Through the successful and also timely intervention, we managed to defuse the moment of danger for Vienna Pride and to ensure the safety of all participants," said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, Austria's domestic intelligence chief. He did not give details of what the attack would have consisted of, but said items prohibited under Austria's weapons law were seized in searches carried out at the suspects' homes. Vienna police and Austria's state protection service were involved in the operation. The three suspects - Austrian citizens with Bosnian and Chechen roots - sympathise with the Islamic State militant group, Haijawi-Pirchner said.

Persons: Omar Haijawi, Pirchner, Noele, Frances Kerry Organizations: Vienna Pride, Islamic State, Thomson Locations: VIENNA, Austrian, Vienna, Bosnian, Chechen

☆ U.N. judges expand conviction of Milosevic aides in final Yugoslav tribunal case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Stephanie Van Den Berg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Former head of Serbia's state security service Jovica Stanisic appears in court at the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) in The Hague, Netherlands May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/PoolTHE HAGUE, May 31 (Reuters) - U.N. judges on Wednesday expanded the convictions of two former Serbian spymasters who worked for Yugoslav ex-president Slobodan Milosevic and sentenced them to 15 years in the final case before the tribunal in The Hague dating from the Balkan wars of the 1990s. The former head of Serbia's state security service, Jovica Stanisic, and his subordinate Franko "Frenki" Simatovic could be held responsible for crimes in several Bosnian municipalities and one Croatian one due to their role in financing and training Serb militias during the break-up of Yugoslavia, appeals judges said. The Appeal chamber found Stanisic and Simatovic "shared the intent to further the common criminal plan to forcibly and permanently remove the majority of non-Serbs from large areas of Croatia and Bosnia", presiding judge Judge Graciela Gatti Santana said, reading a summary of the verdict expanding their convictions. Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Toby Chopra and Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stanisic, de, Serbian spymasters, Slobodan Milosevic, Jovica Stanisic, Franko, Frenki, Graciela Gatti Santana, Stephanie van den Berg, Toby Chopra, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: UN, REUTERS, HAGUE, Yugoslav, Thomson Locations: The Hague, Netherlands, Serbian, Bosnian, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Bosnia

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