Ratko Mladic dies in The Hague detention at 84

Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander known as the "Butcher of Bosnia," died on Thursday, August 27, 2026, while serving a life sentence for genocide at the United Nations detention unit in The Hague. He was 84 years old. His death was confirmed by a UN official and reported by Serbian state broadcaster RTS, citing his family. Mladic was the military leader of the Bosnian Serb forces during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War, the deadliest conflict following the collapse of Yugoslavia. He was convicted in 2017 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. His life sentence was upheld on appeal in 2021.