Bosnia and Herzegovina bids farewell to 14 newly identified victims of Srebrenica genocide

By Talha Ozturk

SREBRENICA, Bosnia Herzegovina (AA) - Bosnia and Herzegovina bade farewell Thursday to 14 more victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide on the 29th anniversary of the atrocity.

Relatives of the victims and thousands of visitors from all over the world attended the funeral service and burials in the village of Potocari in eastern Bosnia to pay their respect to the remains of the victims in green coffins.

Every July 11, newly identified victims of Europe's worst genocide since World War II, in which more than 8,000 people were killed, are buried in a memorial cemetery in Potocari.

The youngest victim buried this year is Beriz Mujic, 17, born in 1978 in Zvornik.

His remains were found 28 years after his death and exhumed in May 2023.

He was killed in July 1995 in the Suceska area near Bratunac.

Mujic is buried next to his brother, Hazim, who was buried in 2013.

Their father, Omer Mujic. has still not been found.

The oldest victim buried this year is Hamed Salic, born in 1927. He was 68 when he went missing in the summer of 1995 in the town of Zepa. His remains were exhumed in May 2014 and recently identified.

After this year’s funeral, the number of burials in the cemetery rose to 6,765.

Following a prayer for the martyrs, the bodies of the 14 genocide victims, whose names were read one by one, were carried to previously prepared graves and buried by their relatives.

There were emotional moments during the burials, with both the families and those attending unable to hold back their tears.

The names of the victims buried this year are as follows:

Beriz Mujic, Hamed Salic, brothers Hasib and Camil Efendic, Mehmed Krdzic, Sabrija Omic, Musan Siljkovic, Sakib Harbas, Ahmet Jasarevic, Nevres Salihovic, Ibrahim Salkic, Midhat Basic, Hajdin Mustafic and Latif Mandzic.

- Montenegro

Montenegro's capital, Podgorica, marked the 29th anniversary of the genocide with a ceremony.

At the memorial in Pobrezje, many delegations and citizens laid wreaths.

Podgorica Mayor Olivera Injac said Srebrenica is a symbol of pain and suffering and reminds us of all the horrors of war.

- Croatia

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said Croatians' thoughts are with Bosnia.

"We persist in promoting the truth about Srebrenica and the education of young people,” he said on X.

- Serbia

Women in Black, an non-governmental organization, held a moment of silence in Serbia's capital, Belgrade.

Participants performed a stage action titled "We will never forget the genocide in Srebrenica" at Republic Square.

Women in Black called for the recognition of the genocide in Srebrenica, primarily as respect for the dignity of the victims, but also as a chance for Serbia to join the community of democratic countries in Europe and the world.

- Kosovo

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Kosovo held a moment of silence in honor of the genocide victims

''For the victims, for the survivors, for peace in the Balkans for all future time, we must remember,” he said on X.

- Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, said it is important to remember and honor the victims.

O’Flaherty said the Srebrenica genocide was the most horrific atrocity that he witnessed.

“I was a United Nations human rights field officer during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of the most important tasks of my colleagues and myself was to chronicle the atrocities that were perpetrated right across the period of the conflict. By far, the most horrific of those was, of course, the genocide at Srebrenica in July 1995, with the vicious murder of over 8,000 men, the brutal violation of the human rights of women and children, and their subsequent expulsion from the area,'' he said.

More than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed when Bosnian Serb forces attacked the UN "safe area" of Srebrenica in July 1995, despite the presence of Dutch troops tasked with acting as international peacekeepers.

Serb forces besieged Srebrenica, trying to seize territory from Bosnian Muslims and Croats to form their own state.

The UN Security Council declared Srebrenica a "safe area" in the spring of 1993. Serb troops, however, led by Gen. Ratko Mladic -- who was later sentenced to life for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide -- overran the UN zone.

The Dutch troops failed to act and Serb forces occupied the area, killing 2,000 men and boys on July 11 alone. Some 15,000 residents of Srebrenica fled to the surrounding mountains, but Serb troops hunted them down and killed 6,000 in the forests.

The bodies of genocide victims were discovered in 570 locations throughout the country.

- More than 100,000 people killed during war in Bosnia

On Dec. 21, 1991, the Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a federal structure was established within Yugoslavia.

The Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was then declared on Jan. 9, 1992.

Bosnia and Herzegovina then declared independence after a referendum held on Feb. 29 and March 1 in 1992 which sparked a three-year war.

The war lasted until Dec. 14, 1995, and more than 100,000 people were killed and 2 million had to migrate.

The fate of approximately 7,000 who disappeared during the war is still unknown.