UN tribunal convicts Ratko Mladic of Bosnian war genocide

Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic has been convicted of genocide by a UN tribunal in The Hague for atrocities committed during the Yugoslavian civil war in the 1990s.

Mladic appeared in front of the court on Wednesday, but was removed from the courtroom shortly before the verdict was read after having been ejected from the trial for berating the judges.

Mladic is known as the “Butcher of Bosnia”, and was in charge of a group of forces involved in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995.

The tribunal found him to be the chief organiser of a campaign to drive out Muslims, Croats and other non-Serbs in order to create a new region for Bosnian Serbs.

The campaign of ethnic cleansing in the region was among the worst atrocities committed in Europe during the 20th century.

Mladic faced 11 charges, including two counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and four for violations of the customs of war. He was cleared of one of the counts of genocide.

Relatives of the victims of the atrocities gathered outside the courtroom where Mladic was being prosecuted.