SARAJEVO: Bosnia’s electoral authorities on Wednesday stripped separatist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik from his position as president of the Serb entity in Bosnia, following an appeals court verdict that sentences him to one year in jail and six years ban on all political activities.
The Central Electoral Commission said that Dodik has the right to appeal, with an early presidential election to be held 90 days after the decision. The last Bosnian Serb presidential vote was held in 2022.
Dodik’s lawyers have announced that they will seek a temporary measure postponing the implementation of the verdict, and announced an appeal to the Constitutional Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The appeals court in Bosnia-Herzegovina confirmed Friday an earlier court ruling that sentenced the pro-Russia Bosnian Serb leader to one year in prison and handed a six-year ban on political activity. As a result, his mandate as Bosnian Serb president was revoked.
Dodik rejected the court ruling and added that he will continue to act as Bosnian Serb president as long as he has the support of the Bosnian Serb parliament. He also received support from populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic as well as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The Bosnian Serb government said it does not accept the court ruling because it is “unconstitutional and politically motivated.”
The European Union said last week that the “verdict is binding and must be respected.” Bosnia is a candidate for EU membership but has been told by Brussels to strengthen the rule of law. Dodik’s separatist and pro-Russian activities stalled Bosnia’s progress toward EU membership.
Dodik has repeatedly called for the separation of the Serb-run half of Bosnia to join Serbia, prompting the former US administration to impose sanctions against him and his allies. Dodik was also accused of corruption and pro-Russia policies.
Dodik’s separatist threats have stoked fears in Bosnia, where a 1992-95 war erupted when the country’s Serbs rebelled against independence from the former Yugoslavia and moved to form a ministate with the aim of uniting it with Serbia. About 100,000 people were killed and millions were displaced.
The US-sponsored Dayton Accords ended the war and created two regions in Bosnia, Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, which were given wide autonomy but kept some joint institutions, including the army, top judiciary and tax administration. Bosnia also has a rotating three-member presidency made up of Bosniak, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats.
Dodik has repeatedly clashed with the top international envoy overseeing the peace, Christian Schmidt, and declared his decisions illegal in Republika Srpska. The Dayton peace agreement envisages that the high representative can impose decisions and change laws in the country.
Separatist Bosnian Serb leader Dodik removed from office by Bosnian election authorities
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Separatist Bosnian Serb leader Dodik removed from office by Bosnian election authorities
- Bosnia’s electoral authorities have removed separatist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik from his position as president of the Serb entity in Bosnia
- Dodik has repeatedly called for the separation of the Serb-run half of Bosnia to join Serbia, prompting the former US administration to impose sanctions against him and his allies
Explosions and sounds of aircraft heard in Kabul, hours after Afghanistan attacks Pakistan
KABUL, Afghanistan: At least three explosions and the sound of aircraft reverberated in Kabul early Friday, hours after Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in the latest escalation of violence between the volatile neighbors.
There was no immediate information on the exact location of the explosions in the Afghan capital, or of any potential casualties.
Afghanistan said its military launched its attack across the border into Pakistan late Thursday to retaliate for Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas Sunday, and claimed to have captured more than a dozen Pakistani army posts.
Pakistan’s government, which had described last Sunday’s airstrikes as an attack on militants harbored in the area, confirmed clashes were taking place Thursday along the border but dismissed claims that army posts had been captured. It called Afghanistan’s attack unprovoked.
“In response to the repeated rebellions and insurrections of the Pakistani military, large-scale offensive operations were launched against Pakistani military bases and military installations along the Durand Line,” Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a post on X Thursday night. Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said the retaliatory attacks were occurring along the border in five provinces.
The two countries’ 2,611-kilometer long border is known as the Durand Line, which Afghanistan has not formally recognized.
The two sides reported widely differing casualty figures.
Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat posted on X that “up to 55” Pakistani soldiers had been killed, with the bodies of 23 taken into Afghanistan, while an undisclosed number of soldiers had been captured.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar disputed the claim, saying two Pakistani soldiers had been killed and three others wounded. He said 36 Afghan fighters had been reported killed. In a post on X, he said Pakistan was giving a “strong and effective response” to what he called unprovoked firing from Afghanistan, and would continue to do so.
Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, denied that any Pakistani soldiers had been captured.
Fighting also broke out in a separate part of the border, with both sides reporting exchanges of fire in the Torkham border area.
Afghan authorities were evacuating a refugee camp near the Torkham border crossing after several refugees were wounded, said Qureshi Badlon, head of Torkham’s Information and Public Awareness Board. On the Pakistani side of the border, local police said residents were also evacuating to safer areas, while some Afghan refugees who had been waiting to cross back into Afghanistan were also moved to secure locations. Pakistan launched a sweeping crackdown on migrants in Oct. 2023 and has expelled hundreds of thousands of people.
Pakistani police said mortars fired from Afghanistan had landed in nearby villages, but there were no reports of civilian casualties.
“Pakistan will take all necessary measures to ensure its territorial integrity and the safety and security of its citizens,” Pakistan’s Information Ministry said in a post on X.
Afghanistan’s military released video footage of military vehicles moving at night, and the sound of heavy gunfire. The video could not be independently verified.
Tension has been high between the two neighbors for months, with deadly border clashes in October killing dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants. The violence followed explosions in Kabul that Afghan officials blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad, at the time, conducted strikes deep inside Afghanistan to target militant hideouts.
A Qatari-mediated ceasefire between the two countries has largely held, but the two sides have still occasionally traded fire across the border. Several rounds of peace talks in November failed to produce a formal agreement.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s military carried out strikes along the border with Afghanistan, saying it had killed at least 70 militants.
Afghanistan rejected the claim, saying dozens of civilians had been killed, including women and children. The Defense Ministry said “various civilian areas” in eastern Afghanistan had been hit, including a religious madrassa and several homes. The ministry said the strikes were a violation of Afghanistan’s airspace and sovereignty.
Militant violence has surged in Pakistan in recent years, much of which Pakistan blames on the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, and outlawed Baloch separatist groups. The TTP is separate from but closely allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban. Islamabad accuses the TTP of operating from inside Afghanistan, a charge both the group and Kabul deny.
