Belgrade 'loses' key war crimes suspect

General Mladic has been living openly in Belgrade

One of the most wanted Bosnian Serb war crimes suspects, General Ratko Mladic, has vanished from his Belgrade home, the Serbian Government has revealed.

Officials cannot even be sure he is still in Serbia, Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic told journalists.

Protesters have called for Mladic and Milosevic to remain free

General Mladic, who led the Bosnian Serb army in the three-year war, has been indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

The general was until recently living openly in Belgrade - visiting public places, eating in restaurants and even attending football matches.

Mr Mihajlovic said officials had discovered his absence when they went to his house, which stands in one of the city's most upmarket areas.

A Yugoslav minister told me recently he'd run across [Mladic] in a Belgrade restaurant

Carla del Ponte

"For some time Mladic has not been at that address and, in fact, we don't have information that he is in Serbia at all," Mr Mihajlovic said.

He did not disclose why the authorities had attempted to find the general.

But only days ago, the UN tribunal's chief prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, called on Serbia to hand over General Mladic as a sign of good faith.

Ultimately her target is to secure the arrest of ex-President Milosevic himself, who also lives in Belgrade, and of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.

Extradition

But she singled out General Mladic as an example of a suspect who could be handed over without delay.

"A Yugoslav minister told me recently he'd run across him in a Belgrade restaurant," she said earlier this week.

"I do not accept that they be allowed to enjoy days of leisure in Serbia under the eyes of the whole world."

General Mladic is believed to be a Bosnian citizen, which would give him no protection against extradition from Serbia.