Ex-Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic arrested in Serbia

Serbia says its has captured Radovan Karadzic, the wartime Bosnian Serb leader accused of genocide, after nearly 13 years on the run from the UN war crimes tribunal.

Serbia has said that its security forces have captured Radovan Karadzic, the wartime Bosnian Serb leader accused of genocide, after nearly 13 years on the run from the UN war crimes tribunal.

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"Radovan Karadzic was located and arrested tonight" by Serbian security officers, said a statement from the office of Serbian President Boris Tadic.

"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)," it added.

The Serbian presidency and war crimes prosecution refused to elaborate on the brief statement, which did not disclose any further information about the time and place of Karadzic's arrest.

However, a war crimes official who requested anonymity said the 63-year-old had offered "no resistance" when he was arrested on Serbian territory, and appeared to have been in a "depressive mood."

His capture comes two weeks after Serbia got a new pro-European Union membership government dominated by Tadic's pro-Western Democratic Party, with the support of the reformed Socialists of late president Slobodan Milosevic.

Serge Brammertz, the chief prosecutor of the ICTY, welcomed the arrest, which came a day before the Belgian visits Belgrade, whose cooperation with the UN court is the main obstacle to the Balkan country's EU integration.