Bosnian War Criminal Ratko Mladić Dies at 84
Ratko Mladić has died at age 84. He died in a prison hospital in The Hague, Netherlands.
Mladić was serving a life sentence there. He was a Bosnian Serb war criminal.
Serbian state media reported his death today. His lawyer and a UN official confirmed it.
Mladić was jailed for life in 2017. His sentence was for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
These crimes happened during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. The wars took place between 1992 and 1995.
Mladić commanded Bosnian Serb forces during the war. He was responsible for the Srebrenica massacre.
His forces shelled Sarajevo and used sniper fire on civilians. Before that Mladić led a Serb uprising in Croatia. His forces were supported by Serbia and President Slobodan Milošević.
Klear Note — Genocide means trying to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Crimes against humanity are widespread attacks against civilians.
Key Terms 5
- The Hague A city in the Netherlands that hosts international courts.
- Bosnian Serb A Serb person from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Srebrenica massacre The 1995 killing of thousands of Muslim men and boys.
- former Yugoslavia A country that split into several nations in the 1990s.
- Slobodan Milošević Former president of Serbia during the Yugoslav wars.