Mladić - who never recognised the UN court - had been held at The Hague detention facility since 2011.

He commanded Bosnian Serb forces in the 1990s against the Bosnian Croat and Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) armies.

During the war his troops committed what became known as "ethnic cleansing" in Bosnia-Herzegovina in a bid to expel the non-Serbian population by force. They besieged the main city of Sarajevo with the deaths of more than 10,000 people, and carried out the massacre of 8,000 men and boys at Srebrenica.

Hasan Hasanović , a Srebrenica survivor who lost his twin brother and father in the massacre, told the BBC World Service's Newshour programme that Mladić's death "does not bring closure because the people who were killed in Srebrenica cannot come back".

"His death is just a biological necessity, and it doesn't bring to an end the political project and military project that created that legacy of genocide. And we now live with the consequences of a divided country, genocide denial," said Hasanović, who now works at the Srebrenica memorial centre.

However, Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik told Reuters news agency that Mladić "was respected by Serbian people. As a commander he stood to defend Serbs."

In Serbia's capital Belgrade, some local residents also praised him.

"I genuinely believe he protected the Serbian people, because after all, that was his duty," a man called Milan was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Another man, Vasilije, said: "It's a massive shame, it really is. Personally, I think it's a total injustice that he was even thrown in The Hague."