Ratko Mladić buried with military honors in Belgrade

Ratko Mladić, the former commander of the Army of the Republika Srpska, was buried with military honors at the Topčider Cemetery in Belgrade. Mladić died on August 27 at the age of 84 while serving a life sentence in The Hague for genocide and war crimes committed during the Bosnian War.

The funeral ceremony, held at the ‘Sveti Luka’ church and attended by thousands of supporters and several Serbian ministers, drew sharp condemnation from the European Union. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos canceled an official visit to Serbia following the event, stating that honoring individuals convicted of genocide is incompatible with European values and the accession process.

Mladić was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for his role as the primary architect of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. His crimes included the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where approximately 8,000 Bosniaks were killed, as well as the siege of Sarajevo and the systematic targeting of UN-declared safe areas.