ŽUPLJANIN: FBiH SECURITY AGENCIES DO NOT PROVIDE SUFFICIENT PROTECTION FOR SERBS

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 27 /SRNA/ – Attacks against Serbs in the Federation of BiH /FBiH/ are continuing, the latest being the incident in Tuzla in which members of the Croatian supporters' group Torcida assaulted fans of Red Star Belgrade, indicating that entity-level security agencies are not paying sufficient attention to protecting members of the Serb population, security expert Slobodan Župljanin told SRNA.

Župljanin stated that it is certain that the FBiH police made a serious lapse which led to the incident on Saturday, January 24, during which some Red Star supporters sustained serious injuries, while one young Serbian man was hospitalized. "I do not want to believe that this was a deliberate omission, but it is evident that the police did not act in accordance with the law and the required level of care," Župljanin said. He noted that it is logical for a security assessment to be conducted when sporting events are held, followed by the preparation of an operational plan by security structures in order to protect all citizens at any location in BiH. "Clearly, there was no serious will or intent here to protect supporters of Serbian nationality, and we know that matches are always events that carry a high level of risk," Župljanin said. He added that the Border Police of BiH could have informed other police agencies that a larger group of citizens was entering the country to attend a sporting event. Župljanin pointed out that in recent years there have been several locations across the FBiH where Serbs have been attacked, including children in Sarajevo. “There was also the attack in Mostar and in some other locations. This clearly indicates that FBiH security agencies do not pay sufficient attention or are unwilling to protect members of the Serbian population in various situations,” Župljanin said. In a clash between fans of Red Star Belgrade and members of the Croatian supporters' group Torcida on Saturday, January 24, in front of Tuzla International Airport, 23 people were injured, including a police officer, the Tuzla Canton Ministry of the Interior /MoI/ said. A one-month detention has been proposed for 14 supporters of Split's Torcida over the physical assault on Red Star supporters in Tuzla, some of whom sustained serious injuries, while one young Serbian man remains hospitalized. The Tuzla Cantonal Prosecutor's Office has proposed to the Municipal Court in Živinice a one-month detention for a total of 14 persons, 11 of whom are Croatian citizens, on suspicion of physically attacking “Red Star” supporters near Tuzla Airport. The suspects are believed to have acted as an organized group on Saturday, January 24, around 10:00 p.m. in the village of Dubrave Gornje near Tuzla International Airport, together with other individuals. They arrived in Dubrave Gornje in several vehicles and waited for a group of supporters of Red Star Belgrade, knowing that they had attended a match in Sweden and would be arriving by plane from Malmö.