Ratko Mladic commemoration held in Belgrade

A commemoration for convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic was held at a military facility in Belgrade on Saturday, two days before his planned burial in the Serbian capital.

Around 300 people attended the ceremony, which was organised by an association of retired and active Serbian army generals. Mladic's son Darko and other family members were present, along with Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujic and officials from Republika Srpska, including its president, Sinisa Karan.

Dozens of supporters gathered outside the Serbian army house in central Belgrade but could not enter because the venue was full. Some carried flags or wore T-shirts showing Mladic in uniform with the caption "Serbian Hero".

Speakers at the ceremony praised Mladic's role during the wars in Bosnia and Croatia in the 1990s.

Mladic died last week after suffering several strokes while serving a life sentence in The Hague for war crimes committed during the war in Bosnia. His body was returned to Serbia on a government plane on Thursday, with his casket draped in flags and received with military honours.

He is due to be buried at a Belgrade cemetery on Monday in a ceremony expected to draw thousands of mourners despite international condemnation.

A Hague-based United Nations court convicted Mladic of genocide over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which around 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed in a UN-protected safe zone. Despite the verdicts, he is still hailed as a hero by some Serbs, particularly in Republika Srpska, where his death was marked with vigils and gatherings.