Ex-Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic dead at 84

Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military leader, has passed away at the age of 84, according to a United Nations official. Serbian television reported that he had died in a prison hospital in The Hague after experiencing several strokes. Mladic's family confirmed the news to the Associated Press, with his son on his way to The Hague.

The International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had convicted Mladic of crimes against humanity and genocide in 2017, sentencing him to life in prison. The conviction was upheld on appeal in 2021. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed solidarity with the victims of Mladic's war crimes, including the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, which claimed the lives of approximately 8,000 Muslim men and boys.

Mladic was held accountable for his role in the 1992-1995 Bosnian War, where his forces besieged Sarajevo, operated detention camps for non-Serbs, and carried out systematic killings of prisoners. Former UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein referred to Mladic as "the epitome of evil" following his conviction. Serbia's justice minister had requested Mladic's transfer to a Belgrade military hospital, fearing his death could occur at any moment.