Four Bosnian Muslims Charged with War Crimes

Four former members of the Bosnian Muslim wartime forces were charged on Thursday for war crimes committed against Serb refugees at the beginning of the 1992-1995 inter-ethnic conflict.

The head of the force's sabotage unit, Muhamed Sisic, and three other members of the unit are accused of attacking a column of Serb refugees in August 1992 in the eastern region of Rogatica, Bosnia's war crime prosecutor's office said in a statement.

"In the attack that took place in the village of Kukavice at least 21 people were killed and dozens injured, including children, elderly people and women," the statement said.

One of the four, Emir Drekovac, was separately charged with killing and mutilating with an axe at least three people in late 1992. The victims were first "tortured in an extremely brutal way," the prosecutor's office said.

The Bosnian war claimed 100,000 lives and created 2.2 million refugees, almost half the prewar population.