Key facts
- Allan Little, a Reuters special correspondent, met Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladić early in the Bosnian war.
Reuters special correspondent Allan Little recounts meeting Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladić in the early months of the Bosnian war, describing him as dangerously fanatical. Mladić's forces were responsible for widespread war crimes, including genocide.
The account provides a personal perspective on the early stages of the Bosnian war and the character of Ratko Mladić, a figure central to widespread atrocities, underscoring the human cost of ethnic conflict and the devastating impact of war crimes.
Reuters special correspondent Allan Little has recounted his early encounters with Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladić during the Bosnian war, describing him as "dangerously fanatical." Little met Mladić in the early months of the conflict at Lukavica barracks near Sarajevo, an environment awash with weapons and paramilitary presence.
Little recalled Mladić holding his hand tightly, appearing exhilarated by the proximity to fighting, and proclaiming himself a defender of "brotherhood and unity." In retrospect, Little noted that Mladić's forces were responsible for some of the worst war crimes in Europe since the Nazis, including ethnic cleansing, mass murder, rape, and genocide, particularly at Srebrenica.
The correspondent also shared a poignant encounter with an 80-year-old musician who had been driven from his home, highlighting how the conflict reduced individuals to ethnic labels rather than recognizing their diverse identities. Little's personal connection to the war's brutality deepened when his cameraman, Tihomir Tunukovic, was killed by a Serb gunner, an event that fueled the cycle of vengeance characteristic of the conflict.