Former Bosnian Commander Among 12 Detained For War Crimes

Retired General Atif Dudakovic (shown in 1994) became the Bosnian Army commander after the war and remains highly respected and popular.

Bosnian police have detained 12 people, including a former Bosnian commander, suspected of committing war crimes against hundreds of people during the 1992-95 Bosnian conflict.

They have been detained in connection with the deaths of several hundred people including Serbian civilians and military prisoners, as well Bosnian Muslims, the police said in a statement.

The Bosnian War was mainly fought between the country's three main ethnic communities -- Serbs, Muslims, and Croats.

The 12, including retired General Atif Dudakovic, were all members of a unit operating in western Bosnia, where Bosnian Muslims also clashed with each other.

They were all detained in early morning raids in several towns, the Bosnian prosecutor's office said.

Dudakovic, 64, became the Bosnian Army commander after the war and remains highly respected and popular.

Bosnia's war claimed some 100,000 lives and displaced some 2 million people, almost half the country's prewar population.

A peace accord was signed in Dayton, Ohio, in 1995, but tensions between the three communities still persist.

Based on reporting by AFP and AP