Karadzic has been on the run since the end of the war

Republika Srpska (RS) police searched the home of an Orthodox bishop in the north-eastern town of Bijeljina on the basis of a tip-off which turned out to be false.

Mr Karadzic, who has been indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, has been on the run for almost eight years, despite repeated attempts by Nato forces to track him down.

Chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has sharply criticised RS authorities for their failure to arrest a single person on the wanted list.

Despite the failure to find Mr Karadzic, the RS authorities won praise from the international community for launching the raid.

"The very fact that the RS police have done what they are supposed to do is very positive," said Kevin Sullivan, spokesman for the top international representative Paddy Ashdown.