Bosnian Serb army 'helps Mladic'

By Nick Hawton,
BBC News, Sarajevo

Ratko Mladic led Bosnian Serb troops during the 1992-1995 war

Evidence has emerged that the former Bosnian Serb military commander, Ratko Mladic, is still receiving protection from the Bosnian Serb military.

Mr Mladic, who has been accused of genocide by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, has been on the run for the past eight years.

Diplomatic sources say that as recent as this summer, he was being sheltered at a military centre in eastern Bosnia.

They say he was living in Serbia in early June this year.

But following the election of a new reformist president in Belgrade, Mr Mladic was brought back to Bosnia fearing arrest.

On the books

Diplomats in Bosnia say he was taken to a secret Bosnian Serb military complex near the town of Han Pijesak in the east of the country.

The well-equipped complex includes tunnels and caves leading to nearby forests. Despite a Nato attempt to arrest him at the time, he managed to slip the net.

Documents have also been released showing that Mr Mladic, who is accused of masterminding the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in which nearly 8,000 Muslims were killed, was only officially released from military service in February 2002 - six years after he went on the run.

Mr Mladic's military file from the old Yugoslav People's Army shows that he was only removed from the registry of professional soldiers in June 2001.

Bosnian Serb politicians and security officials have always denied knowledge of his whereabouts, but these latest revelations are likely to increase calls for more action to be taken against those protecting Mr Mladic.