Srebrenica accused in joint trial

Fugitives Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic are also indicted

Nine men charged over the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia are to appear together in the biggest trial yet before the Hague war crimes tribunal.

The UN court decided that a joint trial would save time as witnesses would not have to testify in separate hearings.

The trial is due to start next year - eight of the nine former Bosnian Serb officers are in the tribunal's custody.

More than 7,000 Muslim men and boys died when Bosnian Serb troops overran the UN-protected enclave in 1995.

The massacre in eastern Bosnia is considered the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War II.

Five of the accused - Vujadin Popovic, Ljubisa Beara, Drago Nikolic, Ljubomir Borovcanin and Vinko Pandurevic - will face charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Three others - Radivoje Miletic, Milan Gvero and Milorad Trbic - will face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The ninth man - Zdravko Tolimir - is still on the run. He is also charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Hague tribunal wants to wrap up its work by 2010, when it is due to close its doors.

The court is already referring lower-level cases to courts in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.