Memorial to Bosnian Croats Killed in Wartime Destroyed

Bosnian state presidency member Zeljko Komsic on Tuesday strongly condemned the recent destruction of a memorial to Croats killed during the war in 1992 in the village of Brisevo in the Prijedor area, which lies in the country's Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity.

Komsic called it "an act of vandalism and hatred targeted against the small population of [post-war] returnees" in Republika Srpska, according to a statement from his office.

He called on the Republika Srpska authorities and police to find the perpetrators, whose identities are so far unknown.

If the culprits are not detained, Komsic said he will assess the incident as "sending a message that there is no room for Croats in that entity".

According to rulings by the Hague Tribunal and the Bosnian state court, the Bosnian Serb army and police force persecuted the non-Serb population of the Prijedor area in 1992, causing the deaths of more than 3,000 people.