Allan Little: I met dangerously fanatical Mladić early in Bosnian war

Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladić, infamous as the "Butcher of Bosnia," passed away in prison. Journalist Allan Little, who covered the breakdown of Yugoslavia, encountered Mladić early in the Bosnian war. The battleground was a sea of flames, casting a surreal orange glow on the dark valley. Amidst the chaos, Little observed a group of refugees, victims of the Serb advance, fleeing with barely anything.

Among them, an 80-year-old man, seemingly exhausted, spoke to Little, revealing he was a musician. Mladić, during his initial meeting with Little, displayed a fanatic dedication to brotherhood and unity, but his true goal was a gun-free world. Tragically, Mladić's command was responsible for the worst war crimes on European soil since the Nazis, including genocide at Srebrenica. Little's meeting with the old musician marked a personal connection to the war's brutality.