Prosecutors have described the chaos leading up the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, on the second day of Bosnian Serb ex-commander Ratko Mladic’s trial.Gen Mladic is accused of orchestrating the killings of more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslim boys and men in the town. The 70-year-old faces 11 charges, including genocide, in connection with the brutal 1992-95 Bosnian war.He calls the claims “monstrous”, and the court in The Hague has entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.Prosecuting counsel Peter McCloskey said that the crimes at Srebrenica had never been in dispute so the prosecution’s focus would be on individual criminal responsibility.He said that the Bosnian Serb Army was not an “army out of control” and that Gen Mladic had been on the ground and in command.“We have radio intercepts of VRS (Bosnian Serb) soldiers and officers discussing murders. We have video of two of the actual executions themselves. So let me be perfectly clear, the crime will not be the main focus of this prosecution. This case will be primarily about one issue. The individual criminal responsibility of Ratko Mladic,” he said.The court watched video of local people panicking in a UN compound outside Srebrenica on 11 July 1995 as Bosnian Serb forces approached, followed by scenes of Gen Mladic triumphantly entering the town.More video showed Gen Mladic berating Dutch UN peacekeepers.Mr McCloskey concluded by saying that Srebrenica “was a Bosnian genocide that we must never forget”. During the evidence Gen Mladic listened intently, occasionally making notes.The Srebrenica massacre was the worst atrocity in Europe since the end of World War II.
