Croatia said today the United Nations war crimes tribunal wants to interrogate a Croatian general over two different atrocities against ethnic Serbs in the 1991-95 war.
The Hague-based tribunal has sent a request to question General Mirko Norac over his role in the 1993 Medak Pocket incursion into Serb-held territory and the 1995 Operation Storm offensive that crushed the Serb rebellion, a government statement said.
Gen Norac is widely seen at home as a hero of the former Yugoslav republic's independence war. But co-operation with the tribunal, which has been patchy so far, is a key requirement for Zagreb's faster integration into the European Union.
Gen Norac (35) was sentenced to 12 years in jail by a local court in March for the deaths of around 50 Serb civilians in the frontline town of Gospic in 1991, when he was in charge of defending the town from rebel Serb troops.
"But we have received clear indications that the tribunal was not giving up on Norac," a government source said.
Local media have suggested Norac might again be tried at home but the source said: "I think they may insist that he goes to The Hague this time." Tribunal officials were not available for immediate comment.