[JURIST] UN war crimes prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website] introduced evidence Tuesday that former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic [BBC profile] used his police forces to directly control a brutal Serbian paramilitary group called "Scorpions" said to be responsible for the killings of Bosnian youths documented in a graphic video shown in court [JURIST report] last week. The evidence contradicts previous statements and testimony from Milosevic that the group operated independently from his control. Prosecutors contend that the Scorpions, who ravaged Bosnian and Kosovo Albanian villages by torturing, raping, and murdering citizens, were a regular unit of Serbia's police force throughout the 1990s. The claim bolsters their case against Milosevic [JURIST news archive] by providing a direct link between the former president and wartime atrocities. AP has more.

Meanwhile in Belgrade, all political parties that make up the Serbian parliament have agreed to a declaration condemning all war crimes. The decision is said to be due in large part to publicity of the Scorpions Srebrenica killings video presented at the Hague tribunal. The declaration is meant to assure all those within Serbian borders that they are entitled to justice for wartime atrocities. From Belgrade, B92 has more.