Karadzic in UN detention centre in The Hague (2nd Lead)

Jul 30, 2008, 7:38 GMT

An airplane believed to be carrying former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has landed at Rotterdam Airport, Netherlands, 30 July 2008. Radovan Karadzic has been flown from the Serbian capital Belgrade to the war-crimes tribunal in The Hague. He has been indicted for crimes against humanity and genocide relating to the Bosnian conflict of the 1990s. EPA/MARCO DE SWART

The Hague - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic arrived Wednesday in The Hague, where he will face genocide charges over the 1992-95 Bosnia wars, hours after thousands of ultra- nationalist Serbs protested in downtown Belgrade against the extradition.

At 7:40 am (0540 GMT) two black mini buses entered through the gates of the UN detention centre in Scheveningen, near The Hague. A few minutes later two helicopters arrived, one of which landed on the main courtyard inside the prison compound, while the second continued circling above.

Karadzic had earlier arrived at Rotterdam Airport at 6:30 am (0430 am GMT) in a Serbian government plane.

Shortly after the helicopter landed, the International Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) confirmed Karadzic had arrived at the UN detention centre. The ICTY did not specify whether he had been transported by air or in one of the two mini buses which arrived 10 minutes earlier.

Karadzic, who was arrested in Belgrade on July 21, will face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the Bosnian war from 1992 to 1995.

Streets in Belgrade meanwhile were quiet Wednesday morning after late night clashes between police and ultranationalists who protested the extradition.

Around 150 people on Tuesday night clashed with the police on the sidelines of the mass 'All Serbs' rally organized by the ultranationalists. Some 27 policemen and 21 civilian were injured, including two journalists.

Hooligans threw stones, bricks and bottles at the police, broke lampposts and turned over garbage bins in the streets around the central Republika square, where some 10 000 people gathered to support Karadzic and to protest the against 'tyrannic regime' of pro- European president Boris Tadic, which arrested him 10 days ago.

After an hour of violence and clashes with the police - who used rubber bullets and tear gas - the situation calmed down and in the early morning hours the city was cleaned of the broken glass, stones, bricks, broken chairs, bins and lampposts.

'Chaos' and 'Hooligans' are the main headlines in Wednesday's press, with photographs of injured civilians and youth with hoods on their faces throwing stones at the police.

Serbian Radical Party, which organized Tuesday's rally against the Tadic government and in support of Karadzic, was aiming for some 100,000 people to attend but only around 10,000 showed.

The last large rally organized by ultranationalists was on February 21 against independence of Kosovo. The rally resulted in the death of one person, torching of western embassies and looting of downtown shops.

Similar incidents of looting occurred Wednesday night in several boutiques around the square, media reported Thursday.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17 and was recognized by more than 40 countries including all major Western powers.

Karadzic had been on the run for 12 years before he was caught on a Belgrade bus on July 21.