Obituary: Ratko Mladic, war criminal convicted of Srebrenica genocide, dies

What the report says

Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander convicted by international courts for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has died in prison in The Hague at age 84, Al Jazeera reported on 27 August 2026. The report said he had been serving a life sentence after his 2017 conviction, which was upheld on appeal, and noted that Bosnia’s war remains one of the most closely examined conflicts from the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Al Jazeera said Mladic’s name is most closely tied to the Srebrenica genocide, when Bosnian Serb forces under his command captured the UN-declared “safe area” in July 1995 and more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed in the days that followed. The article also recalled the lengthy siege of Sarajevo, where Bosnian Serb forces shelled the city and used snipers against civilians, and said international courts found him responsible for terror against the city’s population and the hostage-taking of UN peacekeepers.

The obituary said Serbia had earlier asked for Mladic to receive medical treatment outside prison, while the UN tribunal overseeing his detention said he was receiving adequate care. It also noted that he spent nearly 16 years in hiding after the war before his arrest in Serbia in 2011 and transfer to The Hague. Beyond the legal record, Al Jazeera said he remained a polarizing figure, still viewed as a hero by some in Serb-majority areas, reflecting unresolved divisions over wartime accountability and genocide denial in the region.