Slobodan Milosevic Found Dead In The Prison

Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has died, the United Nations criminal tribunal in the Netherlands announced on Saturday.



His death comes less than a week after the star witness in his trial, former Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic, was found dead in the same prison. Babic had testified against Milosevic and was in The Hague to appear in the trial of another top Croatian Serb.

Milosevic, 64, had been on trial at The Hague war crimes tribunal since 2002. In a trial that dragged on for four years, Milosevic faced 66 charges of war crimes including genocide for his role in the Balkan wars that tore the Yugoslav federation apart in the 1990s.

Milosevic led Serbia, the dominant Yugoslav republic, into four Balkan wars, but always managed to emerge politically stronger. In a statement at an EU foreign ministers meeting just after news of Milosevic's death was confirmed, he said: "With the death of Milosevic, one of the main actors if not the the main actor in the Balkan wars of the late 20th century has left the scene."