The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday gave the European Union Stabilization Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina a new 12-month mandate to pursue implementation of the peace agreement there. The EU force arrived in the Balkan nation in 2004, replacing NATO troops tasked with implementing the 1995 Dayton Peace agreement that ended the 1992-1995 ethnic conflict in that country. But the council said in a resolution it adopted unanimously that the primary responsibility for peace lies with the Bosnian authorities. Compliance with the Dayton agreement, in particular full cooperation with the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, would determine the continued willingness of the international community and major donors to provide economic and political support for Bosnia, the council said. The tribunal, based at The Hague, has been prosecuting war criminals charged with the killing of Bosnian Muslims. The Bosnian- Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, is standing trial at The Hague. The tribunal has issued arrest warrants against Serb general Ratko Mladic and other Serbs, who still elude arrest. Mladic and Karadzic were responsible for alleged atrocities against Bosnian Muslims. --SPA
