'Butcher of Bosnia' Ratko Mladic dead: Serbian state media

Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic, often referred to as the "Butcher of Bosnia," has passed away, according to Serbian state broadcaster RTS. The 52-year sentence handed to Mladic by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a consequence of his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, which is considered Europe's worst act of bloodshed since World War II.

Despite several appeals from Serbian officials and Mladic's family due to his deteriorating health, the Hague tribunal declined to grant his release. Mladic was the military leader during the brutal trio led by ex-Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic during the post-communist chaos in the former Yugoslavia.

The 1992-1995 war resulted in approximately 100,000 deaths and displaced 2.2 million people. The Srebrenica atrocity, where Mladic's forces executed around 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys sheltering in a UN-protected area, remains the most infamous event of the conflict. Footage from the time shows Mladic giving sweets to children before their families were taken away and executed in a forest, with their bodies later buried in mass graves.

Mladic was indicted by the ICTY in 1995 but evaded capture for 16 years, living a life of luxury in Serbia before his arrest in 2011. His defence team argued for his release based on his terminal and incurable medical condition, but the tribunal rejected their plea, stating that continued detention served no legitimate purpose and approached inhuman treatment.