Ratko Mladić: The 'Butcher of Bosnia' and His Monstrous Crimes
BBC News
Ratko Mladić, who has died at the age of 84, was the bull-necked "Butcher of Bosnia". As Commander of the Bosnian Serb army, he oversaw a brutal campaign of "ethnic cleansing" as Yugoslavia splintered in the 1990s.
The phrase was a chilling euphemism for the massacre of tens of thousands of men, women, and children—in pursuit of what he saw as a chance to fulfil the historic destiny of Greater Serbia. It was a goal he pursued with single-minded determination and studied brutality, making him responsible for the bloodiest atrocities Europe has witnessed since Hitler's Third Reich.
His fanaticism made him a hero to his people. He told them their Muslim neighbours planned to "impale Serbs, burn them alive, crucify them and put out their eyes". He led the long and bloody siege of Sarajevo; killing and maiming its citizens in a daily hail of shells and sniper fire.
When his troops overran the UN-declared safe area of Srebrenica, he promised they were safe. Later, 8,000 men and boys were led to unmarked graves. He and his political counterpart, Radovan Karadžić, ripped Bosnia apart—committing acts of genocide and vicious crimes against humanity.
The barrel-chested warlord displayed no remorse, giving relatives of his victims a cheery thumbs-up at his eventual trial in the Hague. "Borders are drawn in blood," he is reported to have said. "And states marked out with graves."
Ratko Mladić's Background
Ratko Mladić was born on 12 March 1942, in a small mountain village near Sarajevo, then part of the German-controlled Independent State of Croatia—although he always claimed to be a year younger. Two years later, his father was killed fighting for Tito's partisans against Nazi-backed Croat nationalists.
Mladić was brought up in the new, post-war construct of Yugoslavia. After a short apprenticeship as a tinsmith, he chose a military career. He graduated from officer school in 1965. Proving himself an ambitious and capable soldier, he rose rapidly through the ranks, commanding army units in Macedonia and Kosovo.
The Fall of Yugoslavia and Mladić's Rise
Tito's death in 1980 was the beginning of the end for Yugoslavia—always an uneasy confederation of opposing factions, competing nationalisms, and simmering hatred. In June 1991, Croatia declared independence. Mladić was sent in with the Yugoslav army in an effort to re-impose control.
He gained a reputation for courage bordering on recklessness, ever-present in frontline trenches and personally leading expeditions to clear mines. His men loved him for it, their devotion bordering on religious.
As the war spilled over into Bosnia, his force switched uniforms—pledging support for the breakaway Republika Srpska. He saw the Muslim population as invaders—the result of an ancient occupation by Ottoman Turks.
The Siege of Sarajevo
Mladić vowed to right what he considered a historical injustice, drive out the intruders, and then build the ethnically pure nation of his dreams. So began the siege of Sarajevo—