Ratko Mladic led Bosnian Serb forces during the 1990s civil war UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has said the arrest of war-crimes suspect Ratko Mladic is a “historic moment” for the western Balkans.
Gen Mladic, commander of the Bosnian Serb army during the war of 1992-95, was the last remaining high-profile fugitive from the Bosnian war.
He is accused of a key role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
Mr Hague said his arrest, in Serbia, should mark the beginning of a new chapter for the region.
Gen Mladic was indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague in 1995 for crimes including genocide over the Srebrenica massacre – in which at least 7,500 men and boys were killed – the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War II.
He disappeared after the arrest of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in 2001 and became the most prominent Bosnian war crime suspect still at large, after former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was arrested in 2008.
Serbian President Boris Tadic said work was under way to extradite Gen Mladic to the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
Mr Hague said: “We congratulate the Serbian authorities on this arrest, which is evidence of the Serbian government’s commitment to co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
“This is a great moment for the Balkans and for international justice”
Lord Ashdown Former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina
“We now look forward to the rapid transfer of Ratko Mladic to The Hague so that the charges against him can be heard in an international court of law.
“Our sympathies are with all those who lost loved ones during those conflicts. Today should mark the beginning of a new chapter for the countries of Western Balkans.”
Prime Minister David Cameron said Gen Mladic was accused of orchestrating “the most appalling war crimes”.
“There is a very good reason why the long arm of the international law has been looking for this man for such a long time,” he said.
Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown, who was High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina between 2002 and 2007, also welcomed the news.
“This is a great moment for the Balkans and for international justice,” he said.
“His forthcoming trial will be a chance for the whole Balkan region to put the past behind them and start building a secure European future.”
Conservative MP Col Bob Stewart, who commanded UN troops in Bosnia in 1992, told the BBC: “It is very, very important that this man Mladic is brought to The Hague quickly, the trial starts quickly, the trial is expeditious in dealing with the matter and, actually, at the end of it justice prevails.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.