Seven individuals including commanders and members of the Zvornik Brigade of the defunct Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) have been detained on suspicion of war crimes during the genocide committed by Bosnian Serbs against thousands of Muslim males in 1995 in Srebrenica, in eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnian officials said on December 15.
The suspects were detained by State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) officers near Zvornik, also in eastern Bosnia, the agency said, without specifying the date.
The SIPA said they will be handed over to the Bosnian Prosecutor's Office following further investigation.
The Prosecutor's Office confirmed to RFE/RL that the suspects included former Zvornik Brigade commanders.
Bosnian Serb troops killed more than 8,300 mostly Bosniak men and boys in and around Srebrenica in July 1995 after Dutch UN peacekeepers failed to protect a declared UN "safe area."
Authorities said the seven detentions were linked to the killing of some 800 Bosniaks near Orahovac after the area was captured by the Army of Republika Srpska.
The defunct International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice have declared the tragedy a genocide.
More than 50 people have been sentenced to prison terms for genocide or other crimes in Srebrenica.
Bodies of victims have been unearthed from more than 80 mass graves in Srebrenica and nearby areas including Zvornik and Bratunac.
Radovan Karadzic, the first president of Republika Srpska, the mostly Serb entity that along with a Bosniak and Croat federation composes Bosnia, was sentenced to life in prison on genocide and other crimes including at Srebrenica. He is serving his sentence in a British prison.
The commander of the former Army of Republika Srpska at the time, Ratko Mladic, is also serving a life sentence for genocide.
