Thousands gather for funeral of 'Butcher of Bosnia' Ratko Mladic

The funeral of former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic has taken place in the Serbian capital Belgrade, as thousands of people gathered in front of the church to pay their respects.

Dubbed the "Butcher of Bosnia", the 84-year-old died last week in The Hague, Netherlands, where he was serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes ​against humanity.

Mladic is still revered among many Serbs in Serbia and in Bosnia's autonomous Serb ‌Republic, despite his convictions linked to his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and in the siege of Sarajevo.

Hours before the burial, people with Serbian flags and pictures of Mladic in a Serbian military cap arrived in front of the small Serbian Orthodox Church of St Luke to light candles.

Free bus services were put on from Bosnia and most Serbian towns for those wanting to pay their respects.

Inside the church, ⁠his military officer's cap and sabre were on the coffin. Six men, mostly war veterans from Serbia and Bosnia, guarded it.

Mladic's wife, son, and ​grandchildren were inside receiving condolences.

The service was led by Patriarch Porfirije, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, while Serbian army soldiers carried Mladic's flag-covered coffin.

Mourners clapped and a military orchestra played during the ceremony which was shown live by pro-government media.

Among those at the funeral were Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik and the Russian ambassador in Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko.

Serbia is a candidate nation for EU membership and has faced intense criticism for honouring Mladic after his death.

A number of other European officials were also critical, along with regional leaders and relatives of Mladic's victims from the conflict.

The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted him of genocide over his role ​in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

Around 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed after Bosnian Serb forces stormed ‌the UN-designated ⁠region.

Mladic was also found guilty over the 43-month siege of Sarajevo, where about 10,000 people were killed.

Since his death, Mladic's nationalist fans have held vigils, painted murals in Belgrade, and lit flares in his honour.

On Sunday evening, football fans in Belgrade displayed an enormous image of Mladic and chanted his name at a match.

(c) Sky News 2026: Thousands gather for funeral of 'Butcher of Bosnia' Ratko Mladic