Mladic's body taken to Belgrade

BELGRADE:

Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic's body arrived in Serbia on Thursday, where it was received with military honours.

The casket, draped in the Serbian flag, was carried from the plane by six soldiers after arriving from The Hague, accompanied by Mladic's son Darko and Serbia's Justice Minister Nenad Vujic. The body was then driven from the airport under police escort, reportedly to a Belgrade military hospital.

Mladic died last week while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. Pro-government media broadcast images of dozens of people, mostly young men, gathered on footbridges over the motorway as the convoy passed.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said earlier on Thursday that he expected tens of thousands to gather for the funeral. However, the European Union criticised state honours for Mladic.

"Regarding Ratko Mladic, the glorification of war criminals is contrary to fundamental European values and has no place in the European Union," EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said in Slovenia on Monday.