SARAJEVO, May 28: Bosnia’s Nato-led peacekeeping force grounded the Bosnian Serb air force on Tuesday and suspended its commander for allegedly spying on alliance planes flying over the Balkan country.
A spokesman said the commander of the Stabilization Force (SFOR) had banned until further notice all movement and training of the Bosnian Serb air force and air defence, limiting its activities to administrative work.
It was not immediately clear how many aircraft were affected.
US General John Sylvester, whose 19,000 troops safeguard peace in Bosnia following the 1992-95 war, also demanded immediate disclosure of the air force’s electronic intelligence monitoring operations.
The move came after SFOR raided a Bosnian Serb radar site in northwestern Bosnia last week, seizing equipment and documents suspected of being used to observe peacekeepers’ communications.
Spokesman Scott Lundy said a preliminary investigation had established that it had been used to electronically monitor Nato and SFOR aviation activities, probably transmissions from their aircraft flying in the area.
“We don’t know what the purpose was. They are not allowed to monitor our transmissions so in that respect...they were clearly violating the Dayton peace accord,” Lundy told reporters.
The 1995 peace agreement ended Europe’s worst conflict since World War Two by dividing Bosnia into two autonomous entities — the Serb republic and a Muslim-Croat federation, with separate governments and armed forces.
“These activities are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Lundy said. “It is a serious issue and we have decided to take a very active approach to dealing with it. We want that to stop immediately.”
General Milan Torbica, commander of the Bosnian Serb air force and air defence, had been suspended pending completion of the investigation, Lundy said. He said the Bosnian air force was small but that it had some aircraft.
Upon completion of the investigation, Sylvester intends to remove all Bosnian Serb army personnel found to have been involved in the illegal activity, Lundy said.
Under Dayton, the commander of SFOR can remove Bosnian military officials deemed to be working against the force or posing a threat to the secure environment in Bosnia.—Reuters