Mladic arrest 'not imminent', says Serbian official

A senior Serbian official today acknowledged that top UN war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic may not be captured in the coming days, but said the fugitive general eventually will end up in a Netherlands-based tribunal.

Miroljub Labus said efforts were underway to locate and arrest Mladic, who is sought on genocide charges by the UN war crimes court in The Hague.

Labus added, however, that Mladic’s arrest was not imminent, as demanded by the European Union.

“I wish it would happen, but for what I know, the usual procedure is underway, which may bring results in the next three days, but also may not,” Labus said.

“One day it will” result in Mladic’s detention, he added.

Mladic, was indicted for allegedly orchestrating the massacre of 8,000 Muslims in the UN enclave of Srebrenica in 1995 – Europe’s worst carnage since the second World War and the worst crime of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war.

The arrest of the notorious general is considered crucial for international efforts to bring those responsible for war crimes in former Yugoslavia to justice.