Former Bosnia leader 'critically ill'

Bosnian Muslims call Izetbegovic "Dedo", the father of the nation

Former Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic is in a critical condition as a result of a fall he suffered last week.

Mr Izetbegovic, 78, who led the country's Muslims during the 1992-95 war, is reported to be suffering from internal bleeding and surgery may be required to save his life.

However, doctors have been quoted as saying that this may not be possible because of his frail health, which has partly been attributed to years of imprisonment in communist Yugoslavia.

The former leader has suffered two heart attacks and was last year fitted with a pacemaker.

He retired from politics in October 2000, saying he was "no longer in the physical and mental condition" to continue.

'Islamic declaration'

Alija Izetbegovic's early life was defined by his Muslim dissidence and the repressive actions of Yugoslav leaders.

After World War II, he was jailed by Tito's communist partisans for membership of an elite nationalist group, the Young Muslims.

He wrote an "Islamic declaration" in 1970 which the former communist authorities in Yugoslavia interpreted as a call for the introduction of fundamentalist Sharia law in Bosnia-Hercegovina - one of the Yugoslav republics.

He was jailed for nine years in 1983 by Tito's successors, who accused him of plotting a coup, but released in 1988.

Two years later he became Bosnian president.

As Yugoslavia began disintegrating, Mr Izetbegovic worked desperately to preserve the country. But Croats and Serbs were sharpening their knives, preparing to carve up Bosnia.

Mr Izetbegovic went for independence, which was backed in a referendum, in turn igniting a war which claimed the lives of at least 200,000 people.

The Serbs are blamed for the lion's share of the killing, but they argue the Bosnians, under Mr Izetbegovic's supreme command, were guilty of atrocities and have been pressing the war crimes tribunal in The Hague to indict him.

'Dedo'

Mr Izetbegovic became an international figure during the conflict, when his capital Sarajevo was besieged for years by Bosnian Serb forces.

He led his Muslim-dominated government from sandbagged buildings in the city centre, symbolising the government's defiance in the war.

Many Bosnian Muslims call him "dedo" (grandpa) for his "father of the nation" role.

In 1995, he was among the signatories of the Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war.

He became the Muslim member of the joint presidency until his retirement.