As Bosnian Serbs mark controversial national day, US warns celebration amounts to 'criminal offense'

The United States has warned that ongoing celebrations of a Bosnian Serb self-proclaimed national holiday violate Bosnia’s constitution and a 1995 peace agreement, and as such amount to a criminal offense

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- The United States on Tuesday warned that ongoing celebrations of a Bosnian Serb self-proclaimed national holiday were in violation of Bosnia's constitution and a 1995 peace agreement, and as such amounted to a criminal offense.

In a statement, the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo urged Bosnia's legal authorities to “investigate any violations of law” related to the marking of Jan. 9 as the day of the Republika Srpska entity, which is what the part of Bosnia run by ethnic Serbs is called.

“The issue is not the celebration of the holiday, but rather the decision to do so on January 9,” the statement said.

The Jan. 9 holiday commemorates the date in 1992 when Bosnian Serbs declared the creation of their own state in Bosnia, igniting the country’s devastating four-year war that killed more than 100,000 people.

During the war, Bosnian Serbs expelled and killed Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslims, and Croats from the territories they controlled.