BIRN: Instructors from Russia, Belarus Operated in Paramilitary Camp near Loznica

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The two men arrested early in Sabac on Sept. 26 on suspicion of ties to bankrolling and organizing paramilitary Russian camps for training Moldovan and Romanian nationals in the Loznica area are Belgraders Lazar Popovic, 37, and Savo Stevanovic, 47, the BIRN (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network) website reported on Sept. 26.

According to BIRN's report, the instructors were Russian and Belarusian citizens while the training was held at the Sunny River recreation site between Banja Koviljaca and Mali Zvornik. Lazar Popovic was at one time an aide to Nenad Popovic, sitting minister without portfolio in charge of international economic cooperation and the social position of the Church domestically and abroad, but BIRN's source said he had not been in regular contact with the minister in recent years.

Stevanovic was also a member of Nenad Popovic's Serbian People's Party, but crossed over to the Healthy Serbia party, led by Cajetina municipal head Milan Stamatovic. The Serbian Interior Ministry said earlier in a press release that both suspects had been detained on suspicion of committing the crime of organizing participation in war or armed conflict in a foreign country.

BIRN reported that over 150 pro-Russian foreign nationals had been trained in identifying combat targets and target practice at a shooting range from July to September, and that the training was held in preparation for an imminent election in Moldova. Training in the paramilitary camp in Serbia, BIRN said, was geared toward responding to a possible unfavorable outcome of the election for pro-Russian forces. According to information from Moldova, between June and September, several groups of Moldovans traveled to Serbia where they were instructed in combat by Russians, including how to breach police cordons and use weapons.