Thousands of people assembled in Belgrade, Serbia, to attend the funeral services for Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general. The gathering took place in front of a local church, where supporters arrived to pay their respects to the deceased military leader.

Mladic is a figure of intense international controversy. He was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, the siege of Sarajevo, and other war crimes committed during the 1992–1995 Bosnian War. While international courts and many global leaders view him as a war criminal responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians, he remains a hero to some nationalist factions within Serbia and the Republika Srpska, who view his actions as a defense of the Serbian people during the conflict.

The event highlights the ongoing divide in how the legacy of the Bosnian War is perceived in the region. While the international community emphasizes the judicial findings of genocide and ethnic cleansing, the turnout at the funeral demonstrates that a significant portion of the local population continues to honor his memory. The funeral proceedings were conducted amidst a heavy police presence, reflecting the potential for civil unrest given the sensitivity of his public image. No major incidents were reported during the gathering, though the event has drawn criticism from human rights groups and victims' associations who argue that the public mourning of a convicted war criminal undermines efforts toward regional reconciliation.