Radovan Karadzic avoids the trial

According to a BBC report, Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has failed to appear at his trial on 11 charges including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Mr Karadzic denies the charges, which relate to the Bosnian war of the 1990s.

The judge adjourned the case for a day, and requested Mr Karadzic, who is representing himself, to appear.

However, a legal adviser for Mr Karadzic told the BBC he would not appear as he still needed at least nine months to prepare his defence.

Mr Karadzic, 64, was taken to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague last year, after 13 years in hiding.

When you speak to a woman who tells you that 21 members of her family have been assassinated, you can easily measure the importance of this trial

His legal counsel in Belgrade said he would not attend on Tuesday unless the lengthy delay was granted, and he would also reject any counsel imposed by the court.

Judges and the prosecution gathered for the start of the trial as scheduled on Monday, but Judge O-Gon Kwon adjourned proceedings less than 30 minutes later as Mr Karadzic's chair remained empty.

"We request Mr Karadzic to attend so that his trial is not further obstructed," he added.

The judge said the court could impose a defence lawyer on Mr Karadzic, among other measures, should he display "consistently obstructive behaviour".

Judge O-Gon Kwon said that, "I note that the accused Mr Karadzic is not present"

Mr Karadzic is not due to give his opening statement until next week, after the prosecution has been allowed two days to deliver its opening argument .

Survivors of the conflict were shocked at the delay.

Admira Fazlic had watched the brief proceedings from the public gallery.

"Radovan Karadzic is making the world and justice ridiculous. He is joking with everybody," she was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.

The former president of Republika Srpska, head of the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) and commander of the Bosnian Serb Army has refused to enter pleas, but says he will co-operate with the court to prove his innocence.

He was indicted in 1995 on two counts of genocide and a multitude of other crimes committed against Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb civilians during the 1992-1995 war, which left more than 100,000 people dead.