Somebody Is Killing the War Criminals of Serbia

The International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague is set to try those accused of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, but it may run out of suspects. Earlier this month, Slobodan Miljkovic, known as Lugar, was shot by a man with whom he had been brawling. The recipient of a hero's funeral, Lugar was wanted for ordering the execution of 16 civilians in May 1992 and killing two others himself. While the murder of Lugar seems ordinary, his lawyer, Tatomir Lekovic, claims Lugar was assassinated because he knew too much about the roles top Serbian officials played in the Bosnian war, a credible assertion given that the accused killer works for Slobodan Milosevic's secret service. Though the Serbian Interior Ministry denies a connection, at least four other wanted men have been killed, including Radovan Stojicic Badza, the militia commander who became the Serbian Deputy Minister of the Interior and was gunned down last year in a pizzeria. Little wonder that the Hague's most wanted, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic, remain in hiding.