[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] Friday confirmed [press release] the transfer to The Hague of newly arrested [JURIST report] Bosnian Serb war crimes indictee Zdravko Tolimir [ICTY case backgrounder, PDF]. Tolimir, a former Assistant Commander for Intelligence and Security of the Main Staff of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), has been charged with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and various other crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre [BBC timeline; JURIST news archive], was a close aide to war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic [ICTY case backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Bosnian Serb police official Gojko Vasic told reporters that Tolimir was arrested by local police in the town of Bratunac after Tolimir crossed into Bosnia from Serbia.

Five of the 161 suspects indicted by the ICTY remain fugitives, including Mladic and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [ICTY case backgrounder; BBC profile]. The latest arrest comes amid new pressure on Serbia from the European Union (EU) [official website] and the United States to prosecute war criminals and arrest war crimes fugitives. AFP has more.