DODIK: SRPSKA STANDS WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITH FAMILIES OF ITALIAN EUFOR MEMBERS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES

BANJA LUKA, 29 OCTOBER /SRNA/ – President Milorad Dodik expressed his condolences to the families of the Italian EUFOR personnel who lost their lives today in a helicopter accident near Brčko, saying that Republika Srpska stands wholeheartedly with them.

"I received the news of the deaths of Italian EUFOR personnel in the helicopter accident near Brčko with great sadness. I extend my sincerest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and wish the injured a speedy recovery," Dodik posted on X.

He stressed that there is a special bond between Italians and Serbs from Republika Srpska that goes back much further than most people know.

"When the Nevesinje Uprising broke out in 1875, sparking the Herzegovina Uprising, the great Giuseppe Garibaldi did not remain silent. He sent his men - the Garibaldians, young men who had fought for the unification of Italy and then came to fight on our side. They came to Herzegovina, stood alongside the insurgents and Duke Mićo Ljubibratić, and, through their presence, gave something that will never be forgotten - their lives in the struggle for freedom, fighting alongside young Serb men," Dodik stated.

Four people were killed and 11 injured when an EUFOR helicopter crashed in the Gorice neighbourhood of Brčko.