International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) fugitive Ratko Mladic was not using a false identity and he had his own identification documents which had expired, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said late Thursday.

“It is not true that he used another identity, or that he possessed a document with someone else's name,” Dacic told reporters in Smederevo, central Serbia, and called on the Serbian citizens to preserve peace and stability in the country.

He said that certain false information regarding Mladic had been in circulation all day.

He also said that Mladic had not even at any point mentioned any other name.

“What is most important for the political and general stability in Serbia is that the arrest went past without any casualties or conflicts,” said Dacic.

Mladic's arrest is the result of a new strategy applied over the last few months' phase of search for the ICTY indictee, the police minister said and called on the only remaining ICTY fugitive Goran Hadzic to surrender voluntarily.

He reiterated that Mladic had been arrested in the village of Lazarevo, near Zrenjanin, Vojvodina.

When asked if he expected street protests against the arrest of Mladic, Dacic said yes, but he also appealed to all to preserve public peace and to cause no conflict.

"I certainly expect that (protests), as there were announcements to that effect," Dacic pointed out and reiterated his appeal on everybody to preserve the peace and stability and not threaten the national and state interests.