Why are the presidents of Republika Srpska and Serbia a target? The Intelligence and Security Agency (OBA) of BiH, led by former director Osman Mehmedagić Osmica, was preparing an assassination attempt on Presidents Milorad Dodik and Aleksandar Vučić, as confirmed by officials from Republika Srpska. They revealed that OBA had fully developed a surveillance network, with media preparation coming from the Federation. Execution groups were also reportedly ready. Institutions in Republika Srpska and Serbia received this information in time, and the plans were thwarted. This, they say, is one of the reasons why Mehmedagić was arrested.
The goal was clear, and the strategy was developed. A few years ago, OBA, under the leadership of Mehmedagić, had devised a plan to eliminate two key political figures in Republika Srpska and Serbia – Presidents Milorad Dodik and Aleksandar Vučić. They planned everything, but not that they would be stopped in their tracks. The information reached officials in Republika Srpska and Serbia in time.
- “A fully developed plan was in place, starting with a surveillance network in Serbia of Vučić and his activities. There was a media buildup in the Federation targeting Vučić and me. There are now also organizational documents proving that groups for execution were being prepared. If any country has intelligence services, it’s Serbia. They think they can do something in Serbia, but they’re fools. We knew about it,” emphasized Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska.
Both the President of the National Assembly, Nenad Stevandić, and Prime Minister Radovan Višković confirmed that the institutions received the intelligence information in time. They explained that the goal of Mehmedagić and OBA was primarily to weaken the institutions of Republika Srpska and Serbia. Višković revealed that they did not plan this alone.
- “Don’t be misled into thinking they could have done this on their own; foreign intelligence agencies were involved. Thanks to our friends, we had the information in time, and it didn’t happen. But nothing is off the table, and don’t fool yourselves into thinking it’s over,” stated Radovan Višković, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska.
Nenad Stevandić, President of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, mentioned that at the time, there was no mechanism to prove the plan.
- “There was no mechanism to prove it back then. Those who were preparing it are now in prison or have disappeared from the political scene, while we, who protect Republika Srpska, are still here with Republika Srpska,” Stevandić emphasized.
While some of the conspirators are now in prison, officials caution against complacency. They say that the ongoing pressures on Republika Srpska indicate that there are still many like-minded individuals aligned with the former director of OBA. Security experts echo these concerns.
- “This shows that BiH is a country where citizens cannot trust the system and cannot feel secure if the highest-ranking officials and political figures are under threat, and if public threats are made against their lives. Others cannot feel safe either,” said Slobodan Župljanin, Dean of the Faculty of Security and Protection at the Independent University of Banja Luka.
We recall that in March of this year, President Milorad Dodik stated that he was constantly threatened with arrest and had received information that he would be shot if the people guarding him offered resistance. Security experts in Republika Srpska question whether this is linked to the ongoing trial against him, U.S. sanctions, and statements from certain individuals that Dodik is a hindrance in BiH.
Source: RTRS
