Today, Bosnian Muslims commenced the commemoration of the Srebrenica massacre, which occurred during the civil war in 1995, following the United Nations' designation of an annual day of remembrance for this genocide two months ago.
Thousands of Muslims gathered at the Srebrenica cemetery to pay their respects to the victims and remind the world of the atrocities that resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians.
This year's remembrance coincides with the burial of the remains of 14 new victims, including a 17-year-old boy, at a memorial cemetery in Potocari, outside Srebrenica. To date, 6,988 victims of the massacre have been buried.
A spokesperson for the Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia noted that the remains were found in 87 mass graves, and the search continues for approximately 1,000 other missing persons.
The event marks the anniversary of July 11, 1995, when Bosnian Serb forces, led by Ratko Mladic, captured the town of Srebrenica, just months before the end of the three-year civil war in Bosnia.
In the following days, Bosnian Serb forces killed about 8,000 Muslim men and boys, an atrocity the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice have classified as genocide.
Years earlier, a UN tribunal sentenced Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic and military commander Ratko Mladic to life imprisonment for war crimes, including the Srebrenica genocide. The tribunal confirmed that Bosnian Serb forces had moved victims' bodies to secondary mass graves to cover up the crime.
In late May, the United Nations General Assembly designated a global day of remembrance for the Srebrenica genocide, despite strong opposition from Bosnian Serbs and Serbia. Milorad Dodik, the leader of the Serb entity in Bosnia, has repeatedly denied that a genocide took place, stating that his administration will not recognize the decision.
The European Union, which Bosnia aspires to join, described the atrocities as "one of the darkest moments in modern European history." In a joint statement, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said, "There is no place among us for those who deny the genocide, attempt to rewrite history, or glorify war criminals."
The Bosnian War, which lasted from 1992 to 1995, involved Croats, Muslims, and Serbs, and claimed the lives of thousands.
Source: QNA