Crowds gather for Ratko Mladic funeral in Belgrade

Large crowds gathered in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, on Monday morning for the funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic. Mladic, who died in prison in The Hague in late August at the age of 84, was serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia. Mourners streamed into St Luka church in Belgrade from early morning, with many kissing Mladic's closed coffin as Serbian Orthodox priests led prayers. Police had closed off surrounding streets as crowds arrived. Aerial images showed hundreds queuing to enter the church, with many wearing shirts praising Mladic. Serbian flags were displayed nearby, and a large banner across the street read, "Welcome, General, thanks be to your mother for bearing a hero, so that Serbdoms glory may return." Despite his convictions, some in Serbia view Mladic as a national hero. Radojka Visic, a pensioner who traveled from Bosnia's Republika Srpska entity, told reporters she was there to see off "the general, a national hero.