The wartime commander of Bosnian Muslim forces in Srebrenica, Naser Oric, was indicted on Friday for extortion and illegal possession of arms, a local news agency reported.

In order to illegally gain money, Oric `forced a certain individual, using serious threats, to conduct activities at the expense of her/his property,` the chief Sarajevo county prosecutor Branko Sljivar told the FENA news agency.

Through these actions, Oric had extorted 204,000 Convertible Marks (105,000 euros, 133,000 dollars).

The prosecution also accuses Oric of illegal possession of arms and ammunition, Siljvar said in the report.

Oric was arrested in Sarajevo last month.

The 41-year-old, seen as hero by Bosnian Muslims, was cleared in July by The Hague-based UN tribunal of war crimes against Serbs.

He had previously been sentenced to two years in jail after being found guilty of failing to prevent his subordinates from killing six Bosnian Serb prisoners and maltreating others held in Srebrenica in 1992 and 1993.

In 1992, Srebrenica was flooded by thousands of Muslim refugees.

It was a UN-protected enclave until July 11, 1995, when it was overrun by Bosnian Serb forces who loaded thousands of men and boys onto trucks, executed an estimated 8,000 and threw their bodies into mass graves.

The atrocity was ruled genocide by a UN war crimes court.