The president of Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic defied rulings by the international envoy to Bosnia, whose role is to prevent the multi-ethnic Balkan state slipping back into conflict.

Bosnian prosecutors have ordered the detention of three top Bosnian Serb officials over a series of separatist actions in recent weeks that have heightened tensions in the Balkan country.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Prosecutor ordered the summon of Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and two of his close associates for allegedly attacking the country’s constitutional order, deepening tensions in the fragile Balkan state.