Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general convicted of genocide and war crimes, has died. His death occurred in a hospital facility in The Hague, where he was serving his sentence.

Mladic, often referred to as the "Butcher of Bosnia," was found guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 2017 of orchestrating atrocities during the Bosnian War, including the Srebrenica massacre.

The conviction followed a lengthy trial that began in 2012. Prosecutors presented evidence detailing Mladic's role in a campaign of ethnic cleansing and murder that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions.

Mladic's legacy is inextricably linked to some of the worst atrocities in modern European history. His conviction was seen by many as a crucial step towards accountability for the victims of the Bosnian War.

Born in 1942, Mladic rose through the ranks of the Yugoslav People's Army. During the Bosnian War (1992-1995), he commanded the Army of Republika Srpska, the military force of the Bosnian Serb entity.

His actions led to widespread international condemnation. The Srebrenica massacre in 1995, where over 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were systematically killed, was a defining event for which Mladic was held responsible.

Following the war, Mladic evaded capture for over a decade before his arrest in Serbia in 2011. His trial at the ICTY was closely watched globally, representing a significant effort to bring justice to the former Yugoslavia.

The ICTY's final appeals judgment in 2021 upheld his conviction and life sentence, solidifying his status as one of the most reviled figures of the Balkan conflicts.