Ratko Mladic, Europe's most notorious war crimes fugitive whose long years on the lam have thwarted Serbia's EU membership, has been arrested, confirms Serbian President Boris Tadic in a rushed news conference this morning. "On behalf of the Republic of Serbia, we announce that Ratko Mladic has been arrested," said Tadic, adding that the notorious commander behind the Srebrenica massacre will be extradited to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. "An extradition process is under way."
"We ended a difficult period of our history and removed the stain from the face of the members of our nation wherever they live," he said, noting that with the arrest, "we have opened the door for the negotiations and membership in the European Union." The EU says it has "all reasons to believe" Serbia has Mladic, reports the AP, but was awaiting confirmation. "He is in the headquarters of BIA," a source tells Reuters, referring to the Serbian intelligence agency. "He was arrested in Serbia." Adds an interior ministry official, "He has some physical features of Mladic. We are analyzing his DNA now." Click here for some old home movies that indicate Mladic was hiding in plain sight. (Read more Ratko Mladic stories.)
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