Belgrade - Serbian officials urged the country's citizens on Tuesday to help capture former Serbia military chief Ratko Mladic, who is wanted on charges of war crimes.

Rasim Ljajic, head of the National Council for Cooperation with the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, said citizens would be doing a "good thing for the state" if they reported any information on the whereabouts of Mladic and 1990s Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic.

Ljajic also added that reporting on the whereabouts of the fugitives is also a legal obligation and that "the gains from Mladic's extradition far outweigh the sums offered for the information leading to his arrest."

Belgrade recently stepped up its efforts by offering a 1-million- euro "tax free" reward for the capture of Mladic and 250,000 euros for Hadzic.

Serbia needs to arrest Mladic in order to continue accession to the European Union.

Mladic, former Bosnian Serb commander is wanted for genocide during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, while Hadzic is wanted for crimes during the war in Croatia. (dpa)