Former Yugoslav President dies in prison

Slobodan Milosevic has died in the UN war crimes tribunal's detention center in the Hague.

Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has died aged 64, the UN war crimes court in The Hague where he was standing trial, said on Saturday.

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"Today, Saturday March 11, Slobodan Milosevic was found lifeless on his bed in his cell at the United Nations detention unit in Scheveningen. The guard immediately alerted the detention unit officer in command and the medical officer. The latter confirmed that Slobodan Milosevic was dead," the court said in a statement.

The court has launched an inquiry into Milosevic's death. A full autopsy and a toxicological report have been ordered, the tribunal said.

Milosevic's family were informed of his death, it added.

The former Yugoslav president had been on trial before the UN court since February 2002 on more than 60 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the 1990s Balkan wars.

He was facing separate genocide charges related to the bloody 1992-95 war in Bosnia.