Goran Hadzic, the last major suspect wanted by the UN Yugoslavia tribunal in The Hague, has been arrested. The announcement was made by Serbian President Boris Tadic who commented: “With this, Serbia ends the most difficult chapter in its cooperation with the court".

Hadzic, war-time political leader of the Croatian Serbs, has been a fugitive since July 2004. He is expected to arrive in The Hague within days to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including "persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds, extermination, murder, torture, deportation and forcible transfer".

The indictment alleges that Hadzic committed the crimes with the aim of driving the Croats and other non-Serbs from the territories controlled by his self-styled authorities.

Prosecutor Serge Brammertz stated:

“I welcome the arrest today of Goran Hadzic the leader of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina. It is an important milestone in the tribunal’s history. Eighteen years after the tribunal’s creation, we can now say that no indicted person has successfully evaded the Tribunal’s judicial process. Goran Hadzic has been apprehended less than two months after the arrest of war-time Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic. These combined events mark a long-awaited step forward in Serbia’s cooperation with the tribunal.”

Hadzic is the last to be caught of the 161 people indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He managed to evade justice for years, despite international pressure for his arrest. He narrowly escaped arrest in northern Serbia, allegedly thanks to a tip from within the Serbian security services.

Serbia’s post-war authorities have for years faced accusations that they were not doing enough to hunt down war crimes suspects. The issue also blocked its bid at EU membership. The country now hopes to become a candidate for entry later this year.