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Serbia captures fugitive Karadzic
Radovan Karadzic is one of the world's most wanted men
Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic, one of the world's most wanted men, has been arrested in Serbia after more than a decade on the run.
The Bosnian Serb wartime political leader disappeared in 1996.
He has been indicted by the UN tribunal for war crimes and genocide over the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica.
The appointment of a new, pro-European government in Belgrade last month appears to have cleared the way for his arrest, says a BBC correspondent.
The European Union, which the new government hopes to join, has put Serbia under considerable pressure to hand over indicted war criminals to the UN tribunal in The Hague.
But Mr Karadzic's wartime military leader, Ratko Mladic, remains at large.
'Located and arrested'
The arrest of Radovan Karadzic was welcomed by war crimes prosecutors in The Hague as a "milestone".
He has been brought before Belgrade's war crimes court, a legal procedure that indicates he will soon be extradited, the Serbian presidency said.
This is a very important day for the victims who have waited for this arrest for over a decade
Officials said no further information about his detention would be released until the action team of prosecutors, police and intelligence teams meet in Belgrade on Wednesday morning, the BBC's Eastern European correspondent Nick Thorpe says.
"Radovan Karadzic was located and arrested tonight" by Serbian security officers, a statement by the office of President Boris Tadic said, without giving details.
"Karadzic was brought to the investigative judge of the War Crimes Court in Belgrade, in accordance with the law on cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [ICTY]."
Serbian government sources told Reuters news agency he had been under surveillance for several weeks, following a tip-off from a foreign intelligence service.
Heavily armed special forces have been deployed around the war-crimes court in Belgrade - apparently fearing a backlash from nationalists who consider Mr Karadzic a hero.
"He did not surrender, that is not his style," his brother Luka Karadzic said outside the court.
'Milestone in co-operation'
Serge Brammertz, chief prosecutor of the ICTY, welcomed the arrest.
"I was informed by our colleagues in Belgrade about the successful operation which resulted in the arrest of Radovan Karadzic," he said in a statement in The Hague.
"This is a very important day for the victims who have waited for this arrest for over a decade."
THE CHARGES
Fifteen counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities
Charged for the killing of some 12,000 civilians during the siege of Sarajevo
Allegedly organised the massacre of at least 7,500 Muslim men and youths in Srebrenica
Targeted Bosnian Muslim and Croat political leaders, intellectuals and professionals
Unlawfully deported and transferred civilians because of national or religious identity
Destroyed homes, businesses and sacred sites
Richard Holbrooke, the US diplomat who brokered the Dayton Peace Accord for Bosnia in 1995, told the BBC that "a major, major thug has been removed from the public scene".
"One of the worst men in the world, the Osama Bin Laden of Europe, has finally been captured," Mr Holbrooke told BBC World News America.
The arrest of Mr Karadzic and other indicted war criminals is one of the main conditions of Serbian progress towards European Union membership. The EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed the news.
"This is certainly a milestone in Serbia's cooperation with the international criminal tribunal on the former Yugoslavia. It proves the determination of the new government to achieve full cooperation with the tribunal," Mr Rehn said.
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: "This is good news.
"This arrest will help close the region's decades of conflict, and pave the way for a brighter, European future for Serbia and the region."
In Sarajevo people gathered on the streets to celebrate news of the arrest.
"This is the best thing that could ever happen, you see people celebrating everywhere. I called and woke up my whole family," Sarajevo resident Fadil Bico told Reuters.
Radovan Karadzic is one of the world's most wanted men
Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic, one of the world's most wanted men, has been arrested in Serbia after more than a decade on the run.
The Bosnian Serb wartime political leader disappeared in 1996.
He has been indicted by the UN tribunal for war crimes and genocide over the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica.
The appointment of a new, pro-European government in Belgrade last month appears to have cleared the way for his arrest, says a BBC correspondent.
The European Union, which the new government hopes to join, has put Serbia under considerable pressure to hand over indicted war criminals to the UN tribunal in The Hague.
But Mr Karadzic's wartime military leader, Ratko Mladic, remains at large.
'Located and arrested'
The arrest of Radovan Karadzic was welcomed by war crimes prosecutors in The Hague as a "milestone".
He has been brought before Belgrade's war crimes court, a legal procedure that indicates he will soon be extradited, the Serbian presidency said.
This is a very important day for the victims who have waited for this arrest for over a decade
Officials said no further information about his detention would be released until the action team of prosecutors, police and intelligence teams meet in Belgrade on Wednesday morning, the BBC's Eastern European correspondent Nick Thorpe says.
"Radovan Karadzic was located and arrested tonight" by Serbian security officers, a statement by the office of President Boris Tadic said, without giving details.
"Karadzic was brought to the investigative judge of the War Crimes Court in Belgrade, in accordance with the law on cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [ICTY]."
Serbian government sources told Reuters news agency he had been under surveillance for several weeks, following a tip-off from a foreign intelligence service.
Heavily armed special forces have been deployed around the war-crimes court in Belgrade - apparently fearing a backlash from nationalists who consider Mr Karadzic a hero.
"He did not surrender, that is not his style," his brother Luka Karadzic said outside the court.
'Milestone in co-operation'
Serge Brammertz, chief prosecutor of the ICTY, welcomed the arrest.
"I was informed by our colleagues in Belgrade about the successful operation which resulted in the arrest of Radovan Karadzic," he said in a statement in The Hague.
"This is a very important day for the victims who have waited for this arrest for over a decade."
THE CHARGES
Fifteen counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities
Charged for the killing of some 12,000 civilians during the siege of Sarajevo
Allegedly organised the massacre of at least 7,500 Muslim men and youths in Srebrenica
Targeted Bosnian Muslim and Croat political leaders, intellectuals and professionals
Unlawfully deported and transferred civilians because of national or religious identity
Destroyed homes, businesses and sacred sites
Richard Holbrooke, the US diplomat who brokered the Dayton Peace Accord for Bosnia in 1995, told the BBC that "a major, major thug has been removed from the public scene".
"One of the worst men in the world, the Osama Bin Laden of Europe, has finally been captured," Mr Holbrooke told BBC World News America.
The arrest of Mr Karadzic and other indicted war criminals is one of the main conditions of Serbian progress towards European Union membership. The EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed the news.
"This is certainly a milestone in Serbia's cooperation with the international criminal tribunal on the former Yugoslavia. It proves the determination of the new government to achieve full cooperation with the tribunal," Mr Rehn said.
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: "This is good news.
"This arrest will help close the region's decades of conflict, and pave the way for a brighter, European future for Serbia and the region."
In Sarajevo people gathered on the streets to celebrate news of the arrest.
"This is the best thing that could ever happen, you see people celebrating everywhere. I called and woke up my whole family," Sarajevo resident Fadil Bico told Reuters.
