A joint statement issued by the EUFOR and NATO command in Sarajevo said that generals David Leakey and Steven Schook made the decision following their assessment that Djukic was responsible for oversights which occurred on April 16, when a large number of Republika Srpska Army conscripts, as they were being sworn in, pledged allegiance to the Bosnian Serb entity instead of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The statement said those events brought into question the constitutional loyalty and military professionalism of the entity's command chain, and constituted a serious challenge to defence reform.
EUFOR and NATO also said that local authorities, including those in the entity but also the state Presidency, failed to punish the army's behaviour, and that for this reason the EUFOR commander had to exert his authority to fire senior officials.
The decision also suspends the further training of Bosnian Serb Army conscripts. Those who were being trained at the Manjaca barracks, where the most serious incidents occurred, will be expelled from military service.
EU foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana supported the decision to dismiss Lukic, saying in a press release that the general must answer for the incidents.
Solana said Lukic was also responsible for the Bosnian Serb Army command's failure to act sooner in order to restore the army's loyalty to the Bosnian Constitution.
The press release said that entity and state authorities were expected to resume defence reform very swiftly.