Mladic trial resumes

Mladic's trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had been on hold since a day after the May 16 start date because of what were termed "irregularities" in the transfer of prosecution documents to the defense.

Monday will see UN prosecutors open their case against Mladic. Several witnesses to atrocities allegedly instigated by Mladic are to be called.

The 70-year-old Mladic, who has been dubbed the "Butcher of Bosnia," has been indicted on 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

Among other things, he is facing charges relating to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed. The incident is the worst single atrocity committed on European soil since World War II.

Along with former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic, already on trial before the ICTY, Mladic is believed to have hatched a plan to rid Bosnia of Croats and Muslims.

He allegedly ordered his troops to drive Croats, Muslims and other non-Serb residents from Bosnian towns. He is also believed to have taken some 200 UN peacekeepers hostage to use them as human shields.

The prosecution holds him responsible for the 44-month-long bombardment of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, in which 10,000 people died.

Mladic spent 16 years on the run before being found and arrested as an indicted war criminal in May 2011. He was flown to a prison in The Hague a few days later.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Bosnian war led to the death of some 100,000 people and left another 2.2 million homeless.

tj/msh (AFP, AP)