10 Bosnian Serbs found guilty of killing Muslims during 1990s war

SARAJEVO: A Bosnian court on Wednesday ordered jail terms of up to 18 years for 10 Bosnian Serbs found guilty of killing 24 Bosnian Muslim civilians during the country´s civil war three decades ago.

The group raided two villages near the city now known as Novi Grad on June 22, 1992, after another member of their Bosnian Serb militia was killed.

They forced residents to leave their homes, according to media accounts of the seven-year-trial.

Some were taken to an orthodox church cemetery where men were killed in front of their wives and children, Bosnian state court head judge Lejla Konjic Dragovic was quoted as saying.

About 90 men were then taken to a Muslim cemetery where they were forced to dig a mass grave and line up alongside it, she added. Twenty-four were killed.

The bodies were later exhumed and thrown into a river. Some of the 24 are still considered as missing.

All of the 10 were found guilty of crimes against humanity during the 1992-95 war that left an estimated 100,000 dead.

Only four of the 10 accused, all members of a Bosnian Serb militia, were present however.

Six of the defendants were given 18-year jail terms, the court said in a statement. Three others were given 15-year sentences, while the tenth accused received a nine year term. The maximum sentence for war crimes is 20 years imprisonment.