War Crimes Tribunal opens case against Bosnian Croat

A Bosnian Croat accused of war crimes against Bosnian Muslims has gone on trial at the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Prosecutors say Zlatko Aleksovski was a prison camp commander in the Lasva Valley in central Bosnia in 1993.

He's charged with having ordered the deployment of hundreds of Muslim prisoners as human shields,around a Bosnian Croat military base.

If found guilty, the accused could face a life sentence.

Mr Aleksovski denies the charges.

Mr Alekovski was arrested in 1996, the first suspect to be handed over to the international court by the Croat authorities.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service