A Bosnian Serb officer accused of genocide and crimes against humanity for his role in the 1992-95 Bosnia war has been arrested in the Balkan country, senior government and police sources said today.
The arrest, once confirmed, would boost the prospects of both Serbia and Bosnia for closer ties with the European Union.
Zdravko Tolimir was a close aide of Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic, one of the top fugitives wanted by the United Nations tribunal in the Hague. He is believed to be the chief logistics operative in Mladic's network of supporters.
"Tolimir is in Banja Luka," a source close to the arrest said from the city, capital of Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic. "He is being prepared for transfer to The Hague."
Another senior source said Tolimir had been arrested on the border between Serbia and the Serb Republic.
Serbia's talks on closer ties with the EU were frozen last year over Belgrade's failure to arrest Mladic. The EU says talks can resume if Serbia shows concrete signs of cooperating with The Hague by arresting fugitives.
Bosnia's talks are also stalled over delayed reforms and the persistent nationalist leanings of the Serbian half of the country, and could be boosted by the arrest.
The arrest would come just in time for a visit to Serbia next week by Hague chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, the main person the EU is likely to consult before resuming talks with Belgrade.
Ms Del Ponte, who says Mladic is hiding in Serbia aided by hardliners in the army and police, has asked the EU in the past to keep up pressure on Serbia by withholding talks on a so-called Stabilisation and Association Agreement until more fugitives are behind bars.