NewsKPBS Public MediaAugust 27, 2026San Diego
Ratko Mladic, former Bosnian Serb military commander, dies at 84
Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general convicted of genocide and war crimes, has died while serving a life sentence at a U.N. detention facility in the Netherlands. Mladic had been in custody since 2011 following his 2017 conviction by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Read the full story at KPBS Public MediaWhy It Matters
The death of the former military commander marks the end of a high-profile legal case concerning the 1990s Bosnian War, which resulted in over 100,000 deaths and the first in Europe since World War II.
Key Facts
- Ratko Mladic died at age 84 in a hospital in The Hague, Netherlands.
- Mladic was serving a life sentence for genocide and war crimes committed during the 1990s Bosnian War.
- He was convicted by a U.N. tribunal in 2017.
- Mladic had been in custody since his arrest in 2011.
- The Bosnian War resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and over 1 million people becoming homeless.
- Mladic's forces were responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed.
- Mladic was born on March 12, 1942, in Bozinovici, Bosnia.
- Mladic spent years as a fugitive before his 2011 arrest in a village near Belgrade.
Who's Mentioned
personSlobodan Milosevic“Former President of Serbia who died in custody in 2006.”personRatko Mladic“Former Bosnian Serb general and convicted war criminal.”personMadeleine Albright“Former U.S. Secretary of State.”personJosip Broz Tito“Former leader of Yugoslavia.”personDarko Mladic“Son of Ratko Mladic.”personMunira Subasic“Representative of the Mothers of Srebrenica group.”organizationInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia“U.N. tribunal that convicted Mladic.”