[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website] Monday sentenced [ruling text] former Yugoslav general Pavle Strugar to eight years in prison for his role in the 1991 shelling of Dubrovnik [BBC report], the historic Croatian city that UNESCO had declared a World Cultural Heritage site. Strugar, who commanded Yugoslav forces during the 1991 siege, was found guilty of violating Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal [text], which governs the laws of war. He was found guilty of failing to prevent attacks by his soldiers on civilians and of damaging or destroying cultural institutions or artifacts. On four other counts, murder, cruel treatment, devastation unjustified by military necessity, and unlawful attack on civilian objects, he was found not guilty. Reuters has more.

In other ICTY news Monday, Sefer Halilovic, former head of the Bosnian army and the most senior Bosnian Muslim commander to face trial at the tribunal, is charged [ICTY indictment] with failing to prevent the 1993 killings of 62 Bosnian Croat civilians during an operation to retake territory during the blockade of the city of Mostar, and with failing to investigate the killings. Halilovic surrendered in 2001 [BBC report] and pled not guilty. BBC News has more.