SFOR DID NOT OVERSTEP ITS MANDATE BY ARREST OF GENERAL KRSTIC

SARAJEVO, Dec 2 (Hina) - The Command of the NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina dismissed claims by some Republika Srpska officials that the troops had overstepped the SFOR mandate by the apprehension of Bosnian Serb army general Radoslav Krstic, SFOR spokeswoman in Sarajevo Sheena Thompson said on Thursday. The arrest of general Krstic, indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for war crimes, was done in complete accordance with the SFOR mandate, and claims that the mandate had been overstepped are utterly unfounded, Thompson told a news conference. President of the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska Nikola Poplasen and Bosnian Serb army chief-of-staff general Momir Talic accused the SFOR of overstepping its mandate before the entity's Assembly in Banja Luka on Wednesday. Poplasen described Krstic's arrest as "roadside brigandage" and announced a "reduction of relations with SFOR to a lowest level until it returns to its mandate". War crimes suspects who are stil at large are one of the biggest obstacles to the implementation of the Dayton agreement, Thompson said. She confirmed that SFOr would continue to apprehend suspects in line with its existing mandate if they refuse to surrender or if entity authorities refuse to extradite them. (hina) lml mm