(AP)
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The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal sentenced the former chief of the Yugoslav army to 27 years in prison today for providing crucial military aid to Bosnian Serb forces responsible for the Srebrenica massacre, as well as a deadly four-year campaign of shelling and sniping in Sarajevo. The case against Gen. Momcilo Perisic was the first time the UN court convicted a civilian or military officer from Yugoslavia of war crimes in Bosnia.
It underscored the Yugoslav army's far-reaching support for Serb rebels in both Bosnia and Croatia who committed the worst atrocities of the Balkan conflicts in the early 1990s. Perisic was convicted of providing officers, troops, ammunition, and logistical support to the rebel Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia, but he was acquitted on charges that he was directly responsible as a superior officer to the Bosnian Serbs commanded by Gen. Ratko Mladic. The court did, however, convict Perisic of having direct control over Croat rebels who shelled the capital, Zagreb, in May 1995, killing seven civilians and injuring dozens more. Click through for the full story of Momcilo Perisic’s sentencing.
