The former head of a self-proclaimed Serb republic in Croatia has gone on trial before The Hague tribunal on charges of war crimes and violating the laws and customs of war.
Milan Martic is accused of murder, torture and ethnic cleansing of Croats and Muslims in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He is accused of actively supporting a criminal enterprise aimed at expelling Croats and Muslims from certain areas of the two countries with the goal of eventually including the regions in a future greater Serbia. The indictment mentions that in 1995, Mr. Martic ordered the bombardment by Serb artillery of downtown Zagreb, the Croatian capital. The attacks caused seven deaths and numerous injuries.
At the time of the attacks, Mr. Martic was head of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, a Serb entity opposing Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.
