Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic died at the age of 64 in the detention centre at the International Criminal Tribunal in Hague.

The Tribunal has ordered an inquiry into his death. In a statement, the Tribunal said: "Milosevic was found lifeless on his bed in his cell at the United Nations detention unit."The guard immediately alerted the detention unit officer in command and the medical officer. The latter confirmed that Slobodan Milosevic was dead."

Officials said he appeared to have died from natural causes.

Milosevic, 64, had been suffering from a heart condition and high blood pressure.

Last month the tribunal rejected a request by the former president to go to Russia for medical treatment, despite the Russian government saying it would ensure he returned to The Hague to continue his trial.

Milosevic was on trial, charged with genocide and crimes against humanity in last decade's bloody Balkans conflict, and for four years, he dragged out judicial proceedings with political grandstanding and health-related absences.

Milosevic's trial began February 12, 2002. He was defending himself against allegations by authorities that he backed and sometimes authorized violence by Serb forces. He was charged with 66 counts involving war crimes during the Balkan wars.

The death of the former Yugoslav leader comes less than a week after the star witness in his trial, former Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic, was found dead in the same prison after committing suicide.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he hoped his death would help Serbia to come to terms with its past and allow it to look to the future.

Serbia-Montenegro's Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic commented it was a pity the former president had not faced justice in Belgrade.


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