Dodik Accuses Bosniaks of Grabbing Flood Aid

The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, has accused Bosnia's mainly Bosniak and Croat Federation entity of seizing more donations for flood relief than it was entitled to.

Dodik said the issue of forming a solidarity fund at state level in Bosnia and Herzegovina had become stuck - and he rejected the idea of simply dividing the donations by half.

“It is clear that the damage done in [Republika] Srpska was far worse than in the Federation,” Dodik said in Sarajevo on June 10. “However, at the expense of our suffering, the Federation wants to use the money coming from abroad,” he added.

Both entites, the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, were badly affected by floods that struck central and northern parts of the country.

Dodik said that “someone from outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina" should be put in charge of determining the extent of the damage in the two entitities, and working out how the donations should be distributed.

Speaking earlier on Tuesday in Belgrade with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Dodik reportedly asked Serbia to help Republika Srpska gather donations.

Bosnia's state-level authorities have already announced plans to organize a donor conference for the whole country.

The areas around Maglaj, Doboj, Samac, Bijeljina and Brcko were among the worst hit by the recent floods in Bosnia.

In some places, the floodwater reached six metres deep after it overspilled the banks of the rivers Bosna and Sava.

The rivers Drina, Vrbas, Una and Sana also flooded areas around them. Authorities said that one-fifth of the territory of Bosnia was submerged at the worst point.

Estimates of the damage caused by the floods are...