Tensions flared in Bosnia on Wednesday following reports that state-level security agency inspectors tried to arrest the Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, but were prevented from doing so.
Dodik, the president of the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia, is facing legal action after a first-instance court sentencing over anti-constitutional conduct. A Bosnian state-level court issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Dodik in March, but he has not been apprehended since.
Details surrounding Wednesday’s events east of Sarajevo, where Dodik was holding meetings, were unclear.
A spokesperson for the State Investigation and Security Agency, or SIPA, Jelena Miovčić, said the agency members “tried to implement a (court) order but SIPA members were prevented by the (entity-level) Republika Srpska police.”
The tensions did not escalate further. And images from the scene published in the media appeared to show unarmed Bosnian state-level inspectors and armed guards outside a government building.
The RS entity public broadcaster, RTRS, reported that SIPA agents left after “talking” to Bosnian Serb police. Dodik later said he felt “fine and safe” and that state-level institutions had no authority in Republika Srpska.
The 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, parts of which act as the country’s constitution, has divided Bosnia into two main administrative units or entities — the Serb-majority Republika Srpska or RS and the Bosniak-Croat Federation of BiH (FBiH) with a state-level umbrella government in the capital Sarajevo.
Dodik, who leads the RS, has repeatedly called for the independence of the territory from the rest of Bosnia, fuelling fears of instability. He has faced US and British sanctions for his actions, but has had the support of Moscow.
