Former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, nicknamed "the Butcher of the Balkans" for his role in the siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, will be given a funeral with "full military and state honors to which he is entitled," Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujić announced on local television station K1. Seriously ill for months, Mladic died yesterday in The Hague, where he was serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

"We are ready to leave for The Hague as soon as we know the next steps, fully respecting all the wishes of General Mladić's family, with whom we in the government are in regular contact," Vujić stated. The minister added that the family will decide everything regarding the funeral and burial site. "It is up to them to decide. It is certain that General Mladić will receive all the military and state honors he deserves, when we speak of state honors," he said.

Regarding requests for Mladić to spend his final days in Serbia with his family, Vujić stated that four letters had been sent since August 20th, and that it had been stated from the beginning that the former commander's health was at risk . "Unfortunately, yesterday, just as we were finalizing the letter to the UN Secretary General, in which we spoke of the need for his intervention, the sad news of the general's passing arrived," Vujić stated.