Ratko Mladić, 'Butcher of Bosnia,' dies in prison

Ratko Mladić, the commander of the Bosnian Serb army and infamous as the "Butcher of Bosnia," has died in prison at the age of 83. Mladić was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, and other war crimes during the Bosnian War and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The genocide in Srebrenica, for which Mladić was responsible, saw the killing of approximately 8,000 Bosniak men and boys after the Bosnian Serb army captured the UN-declared safe zone on July 11, 1995. This event marked the worst genocide since World War II. Mladić's forces also besieged Sarajevo for nearly four years, bombarding civilians, a siege for which the court held him personally responsible.

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Every time I come to Sarajevo, I kill someone.

Mladić's early life was shaped by his father's involvement in the communist-led partisan resistance and his mother raising three children alone. He harbored a deep-seated fear that Serbs would always be persecuted by other ethnic groups, leading him to believe Serbs needed to be dominant. This nationalist sentiment fueled his military career, where he rose through the ranks of the Yugoslav People's Army.

After evading capture for 16 years, Mladić was arrested in 2011. During his trial in 2017, he listened impassively to the detailed descriptions of the Bosnian War's atrocities and civilian suffering for which he was held accountable. He requested a break during the reading of the verdict, during which his high blood pressure was noted. His defense team sought to postpone the verdict or have it read immediately.

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No one will be harmed.