‘Butcher of Bosnia’ Ratko Mladic dead: Serbian state media
Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military leader convicted of genocide and war crimes, has died while serving a life sentence in The Hague. Known as the 'Butcher of Bosnia,' he was responsible for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
Why it matters
His death marks the end of a significant chapter in the legal pursuit of justice for the atrocities committed during the Bosnian War.
Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military chief dubbed the “Butcher of Bosnia” for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, has died, Serbian state broadcaster RTS reported on Thursday (August 27, 2026).
Mladic, who had suffered several strokes in recent months, was serving a life sentence in The Hague for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity after overseeing the Srebrenica slaughter, Europe’s worst act of bloodshed since World War II.
Serbian state officials and Mladic’s family had appealed for his release due to his failing health, but those calls were rejected by the Hague tribunal.
He was the military face of a brutal trio, led on the political side by ex-Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, as the former Yugoslavia descended into carnage after the fall of communism.
The 1992-1995 war left around 100,000 people dead and 2.2 million displaced.
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