Ratko Mladić funeral — The funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić drew thousands of supporters to a Belgrade suburb on Saturday, in a ceremony that reopened deep wounds from the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s. The service was presided over by Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, the head of the country’s Orthodox Church.

Crowds carrying Serbian flags and pictures of Mladić, who was often depicted wearing a traditional Serbian military cap, gathered outside the church. Mladić, the former military commander of the Bosnian Serb army, was convicted of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by a UN tribunal for his role in the Srebrenica massacre and the siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War.

The large public turnout for a figure deemed a criminal by international courts highlights the enduring divisions within Serbian society regarding the wars of Yugoslavia’s breakup. The event underscores the complex legacy of the conflict and the persistent challenge of national reconciliation in the region.