Thousands of people have gathered in Belgrade for the funeral of the former Bosnian-Serb general Ratko Mladic, who died last week while serving a life sentence for genocide, ‌war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Crowds carrying Serbian flags and pictures of Mladic wearing a traditional  military cap gathered in a Belgrade suburb where the head of ‌the country’s Orthodox church, Patriarch Porfirije, presided over the service.

Mladic’s coffin, surrounded by armed soldiers and accompanied by a brass band, was paraded through streets thronged with onlookers, who chanted his name.

He was buried at a nearby cemetery next to his daughter, who died in 1994.

It was one of the biggest public funerals in Serbia since the fall of communism in 1990 and showed how revered Mladic remains among many in Serbia and in Bosnia’s autonomous Serb Republic, despite convictions linked to his ‌role in the 1995 ‌Srebrenica massacre and in the ⁠siege of Sarajevo – two of the bloodiest events in post-war Europe.

“He is a hero,” Djordje, a 34-year-old man ​who came from Prijepolje to pay respects, said. “A great military strategist.”

Ratko Mladic had ​been in a ‌United Nations detention centre in the Netherlands since 2011.

Mladic’s death has stirred up strong feelings linking back to the break-up of Yugoslavia and the ethnic conflicts that ensued in the Balkans.

Known as the “Butcher of Bosnia”, he was found guilty of genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which about 8000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed after Bosnian-Serb forces overran the UN-designated enclave. He was also convicted over the 43-month ⁠siege of Sarajevo, during which about 10,000 people were killed.

Last week, EU enlargement commissioner Marta ‌Kos postponed her visit ​to Serbia, which is a candidate country to join the bloc, because of what she said was the “glorification” of Mladic after his death, including the use of a ​government plane to return ‌him to Serbia.

“The Western Balkan armed conflicts of the 1990s were among Europe’s darkest moments in its recent history,” the EU said on ​Monday.

“Any glorification of war criminals, genocide denial and revisionism contradict the most fundamental European values and have no place in the EU or in EU candidate countries.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who dismissed Kos’ statement last week, did not attend the funeral. However, his son Danilo was there, along with Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic and ​Justice ​Minister Nenad Vujic.

-AAP