SARAJEVO, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) ordered the detention of the President of Republika Srpska (RS) Milorad Dodik, RS Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic, and the President of the National Assembly of RS Nenad Stevandic, on Wednesday.

The detention order was issued by Prosecutor Cazim Hasanspahic, who accused Dodik and his aides of "attacking the constitutional order," according to the Serb Republic television network RTRS.

This action comes two weeks after Dodik was sentenced to one year in prison for defying the rulings of Christian Schmidt, the international peace envoy to Bosnia, according to a spokesperson from the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA).

In response, the prosecutor's office issued an arrest warrant to the judicial police and sought assistance from the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior, as well as SIPA. However, the RS government has imposed a ban on SIPA's operations within its territory.

Sinisa Karan, minister of interior of RS, stated that the primary duty of his department is to protect the constitutional order, emphasizing that no one from the RS leadership will be arrested.

Dodik has repeatedly said he does not recognize the Bosnian prosecutor's office and will not go to Sarajevo for questioning. He dismissed the detention order at a press conference on Wednesday as "non-existent."

Viskovic also expressed his refusal to appear at the Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo. "I do not trust them and do not expect fairness and a fair trial," he said.

In a related development, the European Union Force (EUFOR) confirmed the arrival of the first batch of soldiers from its reserve force at Sarajevo Airport on Tuesday. The new contingent will be reinforced with four additional helicopters. Last Friday, EUFOR announced a "temporary increase" in the number of troops in Bosnia as a "proactive measure".

BiH is made up of two autonomous entities, the RS, with a predominately Serbian population, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with mostly Bosniaks and Croats. The two entities have coexisted under a weak central government. Enditem

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