THE HAGUE. Oct 9: The (jfilted/Nations war crimes tribunal today began proceed-ings at wffiich wctinls and witnesses of alleged atrocities .in former Yugoslavia are scheduled to give evidence in public for the first time, reports Reuter

Judge Claude Jorda of France opened hearings at 0900 GMT in the case of Bosnian Serb Dragan Nikolic, former commander of a prison camp at Susica. near Vlasenica in northeast Bosnia, where as many as

8.000 Muslim prisoners were held.

Nikolic was the first person indicted by the UN criminal tribunal for former Yugoslavia. But he has remained free since being charged in November 1994 with killing eight Muslim prisoners. Torturing 10 others and injuring three more.

The hearings are likely to last a week and are expected to result in the tribunal confirming the indictment against Nikolic and issuing an international arrest warrant

for him. t. si .

hi his opening address chief prosecutor Richard Goldstone said he would ask 10 witnesses to testify against Nikolic.

’Ten witnesses who were present at the relevant time in Vlasenica have with great courage decided to come to The Hague to testify in these proceedings,’’ he said.

"In full knowledge of their right to witness protection they have further elected to give their evidence openly in public.