 Ratko Mladic, the war crimes fugitive, is near to death after suffering his third stroke, it emerged yesterday. According to local reports in Belgrade, loyalists protecting the former Bosnian Serb army commander were already discussing where to bury him. "Ratko Mladic is in a critical state and there is little chance of him surviving," the daily newspaper Kurir quoted a "well-informed source" as saying. The story could not be verified independently.
Mladic, 64, is wanted on charges of genocide in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslims and the 1992-95 siege of Sarajevo, in which 10,000 civilians died. His handover to the UN war crimes tribunal is a key condition for Serbia's eventual European Union and NATO membership. Mladic's death, were it to occur, would resolve a major dilemma for the government of Serbia, where many people regard him as a war hero rather than a war criminal and would regard his arrest and extradition as an act of treason. The EU suspended talks with Serbia and the United States blocked aid last month when another deadline for his capture passed. Mladic has been on the run since 2001. |