'Karadzic regretted that some Bosnian Muslims escaped genocide'

The Hague, Nov. 3 (ANI): Former Bosnian Serb president and genocide-accused Radovan Karadzic regretted that some Bosnian Muslims "got away" and were not killed in the Srebrenica massacre, the United Nations war crimes tribunal was told.

The Srebrenica Massacre refers to the July 1995 killing of more than 8,000 Bosnian men and boys, as well as the ethnic cleansing of 25,000-30,000 refugees in Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by units of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Bosnian War.

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Karadzic agreed to attend a hearing aimed at continuing the trial on the condition of not being placed in the dock.

The Telegraph quoted UN prosecutor Alan Tieger, as saying: "He was informed of its progress throughout. He knew that men were being killed. He covered up the mass expulsions and murders and continues to do so today. The only regret he had about the entire operation was that some Muslim men got away."

The UN has gathered evidence that the 64-year old defendant had "issued and signed" orders in March 1995, directing General Ratko Mladic's notorious Drina Corps to end all "hope of further survival or life" for Srebrenica's Muslims.

"These crimes were the culmination of (his) determination to cleanse eastern Bosnia to ensure the Serb state he envisioned," Tieger said.

Investigators said that less than three weeks after the Srebrenica massacre, Karadzic castigated his subordinates for failing to "finish" 9,000 Muslims who escaped capture.

"We were not able to surround and destroy that enemy because we were in a hurry and we assigned two generals to waste 15 days in negotiations with jackasses and idiots," he said.

Karadzic has denied 11 war crimes charges including counts of genocide for the Srebrenica massacre. (ANI)