Serb denies siege terror charges

Dragomir Milosevic commanded Serb troops around Sarajevo

A Bosnian Serb general accused of shelling Sarajevo civilians has pleaded not guilty to war crimes charges.

Dragomir Milosevic - who is not related to the former Yugoslav president also standing trial - was making his first appearance at The Hague tribunal.

He was taken there from Serbia after apparently giving himself up.

The suspect is charged with organising the siege during the 1992-95 conflict that terrorised Sarajevo residents and left nearly 12,000 people dead.

'Medieval hell'

Dragomir Milosevic, who has retired from the army, was a commander of Serb troops deployed around the Bosnian capital in the final year of the war.

Those killed in siege of Sarajevo were mostly civilians

The UN court charged Mr Milosevic, 62, in 1998 with crimes against humanity and violation of the laws or customs of war - including the shelling of a Sarajevo market that killed 43 civilians in 1995.

"The forces under the command and control of Dragomir Milosevic conducted a campaign of sniping and shelling against the civilian population of Sarajevo," the indictment said.

Another Serb commander, Stanislav Galic, was tried at The Hague last year and sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the siege of Sarajevo.

Prosecutors at his trial said Bosnian Serb forces had plunged the city into a "medieval hell" during the 43-month siege.