Remains of 14 more Srebrenica genocide victims sent to eastern Bosnian village for burial

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday sent the remains of 14 more Srebrenica genocide victims to Potocari village, three days before their burial on the 29th anniversary of the 1995 genocide.

Hundreds of people have gathered in the capital Sarajevo and the nearby town of Visoko to bid adieu to the remains of recently identified victims.

Every year on July 11, newly identified victims of the genocide are buried in a memorial cemetery in Potocari, located in the country’s east.

After passing through Vogosca, a Sarajevo suburb, minivans carrying coffins draped with Bosnia and Herzegovina flags stopped in front of the presidency near a memorial for children killed in the Bosnian War between 1992 and 1995.

Denis Becirovic, chairmanship of the presidency rotates among the three members every eight months, said no one can erase the truth about the genocide against Bosniaks.

Becirovic said that the UN made a big mistake in Srebrenica, which was acknowledged in 2000 by then-Secretary General Kofi Annan in his report on the fall of Srebrenica.

"That's why everyone should respect the final judgments of the courts of the United Nations, especially the UN member states. In addition to those judgments, there are also numerous resolutions adopted by the US Congress, the British Parliament, the European Parliament, the Parliament of Canada, Australia and numerous other countries. Finally, since May 23 of this year, we have the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly. So no one can ever erase the truth about the genocide committed against Bosniaks," he said.

In late May, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution designating July 11 as Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance Day, which received overwhelming support.

The resolution, spearheaded by Germany and co-sponsored by more than 40 countries, calls for July 11 to be declared the "International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica."

Around 1,500 children were massacred during the brutal 1995 siege of Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb forces.

Emotional scenes were witnessed as the coffins passed through the streets, with large crowds of people, including women and children, crying and praying for the victims.

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

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

He was killed in July 1995 in the Suceska area near Bratunac, and his remains were discovered and exhumed in the Srebrenica municipality area.

Mujic will be buried next to his brother Hazim, whose remains were laid to rest in 2013.

The body of their father, Omer Mujic, has yet to be found.

The oldest victim who will be buried on Thursday is Hamed Salic, born in 1927. He was 68 years old when he went missing in the summer of 1995 in the town of Zepa. His remains were exhumed in May 2014 and recently identified.

Thousands of people from various countries will attend the funerals and burials. Following this year's funeral, the cemetery's total number of burials will reach 6,765.