"The 410th military intelligence unit is to be disbanded upon my orders later Monday," Cavic told reporters, adding that he has ordered "a complete reorganisation" of the Bosnian Serb military intelligence services.

During inspections of the unit in March, NATO-led peacekeepers found evidence revealing that the Bosnian Serb army has spied for a number of years on peacekeepers, individuals and institutions.

The disbanding of the unit comes after Mirko Sarovic, a Serb member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, resigned two weeks ago, after being implicated in the spying affair and an arms-to-Iraq scandal.

A new military intelligence unit is to be formed within the next two months, Cavic said, adding that a certain number of officers from the 410th unit and the Bosnian Serb military intelligence centre would appear before a military court.

Cavic stressed that the measures were the only chance to "confirm our dedication not to allow any (future) RS army activities that are in violation" of regulations set out in the Dayton peace agreement that ended Bosnia's 1992-95 war.

Republika Srpska (RS) and the Muslim-Croat Federation make up post-war Bosnia. The two largely autonomous entities are linked by weak central institutions and each have their own government, army and police.

SPACE.WIRE