Sarajevo - The Western body co-ordinating the peace process in Bosnia accused a Serb leader yesterday of trying to carry out a coup. On Wednesday Bosnian Serb Vice-President Mr Mirko Sarovic, of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) founded by wartime leader Mr Radovan Karadzic, told the Serb Parliament he was assuming the powers of the president dismissed by the West in the Serb region of Bosnia. Mr Sarovic said he was trying to resolve a 10-month political crisis.
"It is a usurpation of presidential powers," said Mr James Ferguson, spokesman for the Office of the High Representative (OHR), which is overseeing efforts to rebuild Bosnia after the 1992-1995 war. "If you like it is . . . an attempted coup d'etat."