Thousands turn out in Serbia for funeral of 'Butcher of Bosnia' Ratko Mladić

Ratko Mladić commanded Bosnian Serb forces in the 1990s against the Bosnian Croat and Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) armies.During the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, his troops committed what became known as "ethnic cleansing" in Bosnia-Herzegovina in a bid to expel the non-Serbian population by force. They besieged the capital city of Sarajevo, with the deaths of more than 10,000 people.Mladić was arrested in 2011, 16 years after he was first indicted, and sentenced to life in prison in 2021 after a nine-year trial.Despite his conviction for genocide, Mladić remains a national figure perceived by many Serbs as a heroic defender of the nation. Many Serb nationalists see him as a hero and protector, particularly in the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska, where his death sparked vigils.Several Serbian government ministers joined the crowds paying tribute outside the church where Mladić lay in state before the burial, including the Defence Minister Bratislav Gašić, and the Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić, local media reported. The funeral service was led by the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, who said Mladić's name would remain "deeply etched in the memory and prayers...