Ratko Mladic, 'Butcher of Bosnia,' Dies

Ratko Mladic, 'Butcher of Bosnia,' Dies

The News

Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb general convicted of genocide for the slaughter of some 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica, has died, Serbian state television reported Thursday.

Reuters, France 24 and Deutsche Welle all attributed the death to Serbian state media. Deutsche Welle put his age at 84; The New York Times reported he was 83.

No cause of death was given in the initial reports.

Who he was

Mladic commanded Bosnian Serb forces during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, the bloodiest chapter of Yugoslavia's collapse.

He was convicted of genocide over the killings at Srebrenica in July 1995 — the deadliest massacre in Europe since World War II, according to The New York Times.

The killings, and the siege warfare that defined the Bosnian conflict, earned him the nickname the "Butcher of Bosnia."

Timeline

1992-1995

Mladic serves as the top general of Bosnian Serb forces during the war in Bosnia.

July 1995

Roughly 8,000 Muslims are killed at Srebrenica, the massacre at the center of his genocide conviction.

Aug. 27, 2026

Serbian state television reports Mladic has died; Reuters, France 24, DW and the Times carry the news.

Reactions

Official reaction was not yet available in the first hours after the reports. Serbian state media broke the news, and international outlets relayed it without independent confirmation of the circumstances.

What's Next

Expect formal confirmation of the death and a cause from Serbian authorities, and statements from Bosnian officials and survivors' groups, for whom Srebrenica remains the defining wound of the 1990s wars.

More

Details on his death, including where and how he died, were still thin at publication. The Frank will update as officials confirm them.

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