Key Serb war crimes suspect arrested
( 2003-06-13 15:09) (Agencies)
Key Serb war crimes suspect arrested
Police arrested a former army officer wanted for war crimes, hiding in an apartment building after violent clashes with a crowd trying to protect the fugitive.
The late Thursday arrest of Veselin Sljivancanin came hours after special police raided his apartment but failed to find him there.
Sljivancanin, who was indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, was ultimately found after police broke through a steel-reinforced door near his apartment.
B-92 radio reported police searched the apartment building for 10 hours before finding the wanted man, who was taken to Belgrade's central prison in a convoy of armored cars.
Before Sljivancanin was caught there were hours of clashes between police and the fugitives supporters who viewed him as a hero for his part in the war that surrounded the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia.
Police used stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets to fight back Sljivancanin's supports, and at least seven of them were injured. The protest swelled to near 1,000 during the police search of the apartment building.
Sljivancanin was indicted for the alleged 1991 killings of more than 200 people in eastern Croatia.
He was charged in 1995 but evaded arrest with protection from the government of former President Slobodan Milosevic, who was ousted in 2000.
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