War crimes court to serve warrant on Milosevic

The UN war crimes tribunal is pressing ahead with its campaign to prosecute Slobodan Milosevic.

It is sending a senior official to hand over the international arrest warrant against the former Yugoslavian president.

Hans Holthuis, registrar of the tribunal based in The Hague, Netherlands, will submit the warrant "to ensure that it is served on the accused," UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

Mr Holthuis will also discuss the status of Yugoslavian charges of corruption and abuse of power filed against Milosevic after he surrendered last weekend following a 26-hour armed stand-off.

The visit marks a hardening of the tribunal's stand in demanding that Milosevic stand trial in The Hague for atrocities allegedly committed by his forces against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

In addition, the tribunal plans to file charges against Milosevic for similar offences committed during wars in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the last decade. Milosevic now acknowledges he financed Serb rebels fighting against independence for those former Yugoslav republics.

The senior political adviser to the tribunal, Jean-Jacques Joris, insisted that Milosevic be handed over and "it must occur immediately".

The tribunal moves came after signs that the United States and its European allies may be softening their resistance to Yugoslav demands to try Milosevic in Yugoslavia for offences allegedly committed against his people during his 13-year rule.