Bosnian Serbs Trade Blame Over Missing Boy's Death

After a five-day search resulted in the discovery of a corpse, the death of ten-year-old Konstantin Stijepic has been blamed on the reluctance of authorities in the Bosnian Serb entity to ask for help from counterparts in the country's Federation entity. 

Aleksandra Simojlovic, spokesman for public security in Bijeljina, told news agency SRNA that Stijepic was found on Sunday in rough terrain at Vis in the region of Majevica - a low mountain range in northeastern Bosnia in Republika Srpska, RS. 

He was found some two kilometres away from his home, said Simojlovic, having been reported missing on March 7. He was reported as suffering from autism.

The Mayor of Lopare, Rado Savic, said as many as 1,500 people had joined the search for the boy, with at least 200 searching every day and - on one day - as many as 350.

RS police, members of the armed forces, civil defence officers from the RS and Brcko District, firefighters, Banja Luka's mountain rescue service and rescue workers from Foca were all said to have taken part in the search.

But Bosnia's Security Minister, Dragan Mektic, told reporters that the search had been hampered by a lack of willingness in the RS to seek help from counterparts in the Federation entity.

Mektic, a member of the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, which is in opposition in the RS, said last Thursday that the Mayor of Lopare had called him to ask for help.

Mektic said he gave his permission to use a sniffer dog team from Bjeljina but discovered they lacked the proper technical equipment.

Mektic said he then called the director of the Department for Civil Protection of the Federation entity, Fahrudin Solak, who sent three dog teams as well as a drone. 

Criticising the civil protection...