A former Bosnian Serb army commander - jailed for 18 years in connection with the infamous Srebrenica massacre in 1995 - has had his sentence cut by three years. Vidoje Blagojevic had appealed against his 2005 conviction for complicity in genocide, aiding and abetting murder, persecution and inhumane acts. The UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague threw out the majority of his appeal, including his call for a re-trial.

But judges cut his sentence to 15 years, saying there was ‘not enough’ evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Blagojevic knew about the intention to massacre when he helped transfer Bosnian Muslims out of Srebrenica, and therefore allowed his appeal against complicity in genocide.

About 10,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred after the UN safe haven fell to Serb forces in July 1995 - making it Europe's worst massacre and genocide since World War Two.

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Bosnian Serb army commander Vidoje Blagojevic waits in the courtroom for his appeal judgement at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands, Wednesday May 9, 2007. (AP)