Close surveillance of suspected helpers and family members led to the capture of Ratko Mladic after 16 years on the run, an official close to his arrest said on Saturday. Security officials monitoring communications by Mladic's helpers discovered several weeks ago which family members were helping him hide, the official said on Saturday on condition of anonymity.
The fugitive general, who has been indicted for genocide during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, was found on Thursday at a farmhouse belonging to his cousin after years of failed attempts to find and arrest him. A Belgrade court ruled on Friday he was fit enough to face genocide charges at the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Supporters of Mladic across Serbia and the Bosnian Serb Republic said they planned a series of protests over the following days, including in Belgrade on Sunday night.