Nato Surrounds Key Buildings Held By Hard-Line Serb Police

In a show of support Sunday for the Bosnian Serb republic’s newly elected premier, NATO-led troops surrounded key buildings held by police loyal to Serb hard-liner and top war crimes suspect, Radovan Karadzic.

About 15 Italian soldiers and four armored personnel carriers encircled an Interior Ministry building in Pale, Karadzic’s headquarters in the deeply divided republic.

NATO peacekeepers also circled a ministry building in the eastern town of Bijeljina, a NATO official said. The town is headquarters for proKaradzic police.

The operation was aimed at ensuring that the republic’s new moderate prime minister, Milorad Dodik, could assume control of the buildings, said a NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity.