Bosnian minister denies war crimes

Halilovic, right, made a brief appearance before the war crimes court

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Sefer Halilovic, a minister in the Bosnian government and former army chief, has pleaded not guilty to charges of failing to prevent 1993 killings of Bosnian Croat civilians by his troops.

The former commander of the Bosnian Muslim-led army, and now minister for refugees and social affairs in Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation, surrendered to the U.N. court at the Hague on Tuesday.

He is charged with violating the laws and customs of war, and is the highest ranking Bosnian Muslim to appear at the court.

"In the name of merciful God, I plead not guilty," Halilovic, 49, said during a brief initial appearance in court in what is deemed a "command responsibility" case.

He is accused of failing to stop the killings of more than 60 Bosnian Croat civilians in September 1993 and of not properly investigating the killings or punishing those responsible.

Many of the civilians killed in two villages during a 1993 Bosnian Muslim offensive against Croat forces near Mostar in southern Bosnia were elderly or children who had stayed in their homes after the area was captured by Bosnian Muslim forces.

The bodies of Croat civilians were found floating down a river after the attacks, which took place during an operation led by Halilovic, according to the indictment.

Halilovic's lawyer told the court the killings were carried out by factions within the army and secret service to deepen a split between Muslims and Croats and to discredit Halilovic.

Muslims and Croats in Bosnia began the 1992-95 war as allies against the Serbs but fought their own war in 1993. In 1994 they joined forces again inside the federation, which now makes up post-war Bosnia together with a Serb republic.

Halilovic, who was named under a sealed indictment opened after he surrendered, is the seventh Bosnian Muslim to face trial at the International Criminal Court for former Yugoslavia.

Serbs have accused the tribunal of bias against them.

The court has so far convicted 10 Bosnian Serbs, nine Bosnian Croats and four Bosnians from mixed ethnic backgrounds.

Halilovic became overall commander of the Bosnian government's army in May 1992 but was replaced in mid-1993 and made army chief of staff.

He quickly fell out of favour with the Muslim leadership and left the army at his own request about a month after the Grabovica killings.

Halilovic formed his own political party after the war and became a leader of the reformist Alliance for Change which took power from nationalists after last year's general election.

Halilovic was born in Yugoslavia's southern Sandzak region, which has a substantial Muslim population.

He was an officer in the army of the old socialist Yugoslavia and helped organise Bosnian Muslim paramilitary units before the war broke out.