- Ratko Mladic, convicted of genocide for orchestrating the 1995 massacre of at least 8,000 Muslims in a UN-designated “safe area” of Bosnia, has died, a UN official said on Thursday.
- In July 1995, Mladic's forces overran Srebrenica and killed at least 8,000 Muslims.
- Mladic was arrested in 2011 and convicted of genocide in 2017, receiving a life sentence.
- His appeal was rejected in 2021.
- In August 2026, a UN doctor found Mladic's death may occur at any time.
- Mladic was born in 1942 or 1943 and became an officer in the JNA.
- In 1992, he was chosen to command the new Bosnian Serb army.
- He stepped down in 1996 under Western pressure.
Ratko Mladic, the former general of the Bosnian Serb army, has died, confirmed a UN official on Thursday. Mladic was convicted of genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where over 8,000 Muslims were killed, marking it as Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II.127
The massacre was the culmination of a brutal three-year war, during which Mladic's forces bombarded the capital, Sarajevo, resulting in the deaths of 10,000 civilians. The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) determined that Mladic aimed for “ethnic cleansing”, forcibly expelling non-Serbs to create a Greater Serbia.
Mladic, alongside late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, was found to be part of a criminal conspiracy to implement this plan. He was dubbed the “Butcher of Bosnia” by his opponents and famously declared, “I do not recognize this court,” during his trial in 2014.
After being sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017, he vehemently protested, shouting, “This is all lies, you are all liars!” Mladic had lived in hiding for years after the war, only being captured in 2011. His death marks a significant moment in the history of the Balkans and the ongoing quest for justice for the victims of the Srebrenica massacre.3
“Mladic was sentenced to life in 2017 for orchestrating the killing of at least 8,000 Muslims in a UN-designated safe area. His appeal was rejected in 2021, and in August 2026 a UN doctor warned his death could occur at any time.”
The Globe and Mail
