Pair jailed over Srebrenica massacre

THE HAGUE - Judges at The Hague war crimes tribunal jailed two former Bosnian Serb army commanders for 18 and nine years respectively yesterday for their role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of more than 7000 Muslim men and boys.

Vidoje Blagojevic was found guilty of complicity in genocide by aiding and abetting the crime and of aiding and abetting murder, persecutions and inhumane acts. He was sentenced to 18 years in jail.

His co-accused, Dragan Jokic, was convicted of aiding and abetting murder, persecutions and extermination and given a nine-year sentence by judges at the UN tribunal. Both were given credit for time already spent in detention.

Thousands of Muslim men and boys were slaughtered after the UN's so-called "safe area" of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia fell to Serb forces in July 1995. The killings became one of the most notorious episodes of the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

The crimes were among the darkest events in modern European history, said the court.

- REUTERS