Military reinforcements from the European Union have begun to arrive in Bosnia amidst growing concerns of instability for the region.
The European Union Force (EUFOR) said that from Tuesday, troops under its command were starting to arrive at Sarajevo airport and by land.
“Military personnel, vehicles and helicopters from the Czech Republic, Italy and Romania will reinforce EUFOR troops over the coming days,” wrote Captain Alan Patrick Rigney in a statement on behalf of EUFOR.
EUFOR did not confirm the number of troops being sent.
This follows reports that the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued an arrest warrant for Milorad Dodik, president of the Serb-led Republika Srpska entity, on Wednesday local time and moves from the Republika Srpska (RS) to pass laws blocking access to its police and judiciary.
The laws were pulled and last month Dodik was convicted, given a one-year prison term and a along with a ban on holding office for six years.
Further warrants were also issued for two other individuals and all three were accused of an “attack on the constitutional order” of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The warrants came after Dodik, Republika Srpska Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic, and the speaker of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska all failed to answer two separate summons for questioning.
The Balkan country has consisted of two separate and autonomous entities since the end of its war in the 1990s, the Serb-dominated RS and a Muslim-Croat region, which both have their own governments and parliaments.
There are some central linking institutions for the two halves, including a presidency made up of ethnic Serb, Croat and Bosniak Muslim representatives.
Mark Rutte, NATO chief, flew to the nation's capital at the start of the week as well, pledging the military alliance's "unwavering" support for Bosnia's territorial integrity.
"Three decades after the Dayton Peace Agreement, I can tell you: NATO remains firmly committed to the stability of this region and to the security of Bosnia and Herzegovina…we will not allow hard-won peace to be jeopardised," Rutte said.
"Inflammatory rhetoric and actions are dangerous. They pose a direct threat to Bosnia and Herzegovina's stability and security.”
