Bosnian commanders deny war crimes

Generals Alagic, left, and Hadzihasanovic deny the charges

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Three top Bosnian Muslim wartime commanders have pleaded not guilty to charges of war crimes against mainly Croat civilians in central Bosnia.

Retired generals Enver Hadzihasanovic, 51, Mehmed Alagic, 54, and brigadier Amir Kubura, 37, are the highest-ranking Bosnian Muslims yet to appear before the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

The three were accused of 19 charges, including the murder, hostage-taking and inhumane treatment of civilians, breaches of the Geneva Convention and the destruction of villages and religious institutions.

The crimes were alleged to have been carried out during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

Algic and Hadzihasanovic led the Bosnian Muslim army's 3rd corps at various times during the conflict.

Prosecutors allege the three, arrested last week, bear responsibility for failing to halt crimes perpetrated mainly by foreign Muslim fighters known as the Mujahadeen or "Holy Warriors," who flocked from Arab countries to help Bosnia's Muslims defend themselves.

Bosnia's Muslims and Croats started the war as allies against the Serbs, but then fought their own bitter conflict for territory in central Bosnia, where the three officers operated, as well as in the southern region of Herzegovina, Reuters news agency reported.