A court in Bosnia has sentenced the pro-Russia Bosnian Serb president, Milorad Dodik, to one year in prison and banned him from politics for six years over his separatist actions as tensions mount in the fragile Balkan state.
Dodik’s separatist threats have stoked fears in Bosnia, where a 1992-95 war erupted when the country’s Serbs rebelled against independence from the former Yugoslavia and moved to form a mini-state with the aim of uniting it with Serbia.
Dodik has repeatedly called for the separation of the Serb-run half of Bosnia to join with neighbouring Serbia, which prompted the Biden administration to impose sanctions against him and his close allies.
Dodik has repeatedly clashed with the top international envoy overseeing the peace, Christian Schmidt, and declared his decisions illegal in Republika Srpska.
In Serbia, its populist president, Aleksandar Vučić, called an urgent session of the national security council, then flew to Banja Luka to support Dodik.
