Swiss authorities have extradited a former Bosnian Muslim commander accused of war crimes to Bosnia instead of to Serbia, where he is wanted over similar charges.

The decision to send 48 year old Naser Oric to Bosnia instead of Serbia has angered Serb authorities, who called the decision "politically motivated” and “all but fair.”

Last year, Serbian authorities issued an international warrant for his arrest and Mr Oric was arrested by Swiss authorities whilst trying to cross into France some two weeks ago. As soon as Serbian authorities filed a request for his extradition though, the Bosnian government followed suit, announcing it had launched its own investigation into alleged war crimes.

Swiss authorities decided to send Mr Oric to Bosnia over Serbia, stating the decision had been made in “simplified proceedings”.

"For Serbia, it means that the war crimes issue is not a matter of justice but of politics," said Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.  Mr Oric, who stands "accused of the worst war crimes, has thus been practically released," he added.

However the Bosnian government reacted differently, hailing the decisions as "the only correct and fair" one. Bakir Izetbegović, the Bosniak member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said Serbia’s move was "another attempt of Serbian justice to mistreat our citizens, despite the accords and protocols (on cooperation of two countries in war crime cases) failed".

A crowd of Mr Oric’s supporters gathered at Sarajevo airport to greet him.

Mr Oric, a former commander with the Bosnian army is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity against ethnic Serbs. The commander, who led troops in the east of Bosnia during the 1992-1995 war, had previously been sentenced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for failing to prevent the deaths of five Bosnian Serb detainees and the mistreatment of 11 others, but was acquitted two years later.