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Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Bosnians honour Srebrenica genocide victims 30 years on
A Bosnian Muslim survivor of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide walks among headstones as she visits the graves of her relatives at the memorial cemetery in Potocari, near the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, July 11, 2024. Photo AFP Thousands of Bosnians marked the 30th anniversary of a massacre in which more than 8,000 Muslim Bosniak men and boys were executed by Bosnian Serb forces during a 1992-1995 war at a cemetery near Srebrenica on Friday. Families buried the partial remains of seven victims, one of them a woman, alongside 6,750 already interred. Local and foreign dignitaries laid flowers at the memorial where the names of the victims are engraved in stone. About 1,000 victims have yet to be found from Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two, which, decades later, still haunts Bosnia and Herzegovina's 3 million people. Families who retrieved victims' remains have increasingly opted to bury even just a few bones to give them a final resting place. "I feel such sadness and pain for all these people and youth," said a woman called Sabaheta from the eastern town of Gorazde. Survivors and families, standing or sitting by the rows of white gravestones, joined a collective Islamic prayer for the dead before the burial. Then, in a highly emotional procession, the men carried coffins draped in green cloth and Bosnian flags to the graves. The massacre unfolded after Srebrenica — a designated UN "safe area" for civilians in Bosnia's war that followed the disintegration of federal Yugoslavia — was overrun by nationalist Bosnian Serb forces. While the women opted to go to the UN compound, men tried to escape through nearby woods where most of them were caught. Some were shot immediately, and others were driven to schools or warehouses where they were killed in the following days. The bodies were dumped in pits then dug up months later and scattered in smaller graves in an effort to conceal the crime.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Bosnians honour Srebrenica genocide victims 30 years on
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Bosnian Muslims gather amid grave stones of victims killed during the Srebrenica genocide, at the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial in Potocari, Bosnia and Herzegovina, July 11, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SREBRENICA, Bosnia - Thousands of Bosnians gathered at a cemetery near Srebrenica on Friday to mark the 30th anniversary of a massacre in which more than 8,000 Muslim Bosniak men and boys were executed by Bosnian Serb forces during a 1992-5 war. About 1,000 victims have yet to be found from Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two, which still haunts Bosnia and Herzegovina's 3 million people decades later. Families who retrieved victims' remains have increasingly opted to bury even just a few bones to give them a final resting place. At a ceremony on Friday, the partial remains of seven victims were to be buried alongside 6,750 already interred. Survivors, families and dignitaries walked along rows of white gravestones. Some prayed and cried at the gravesides or sat motionless, heads buried in their hands. "I feel such sadness and pain for all these people and youth," said a woman called Sabaheta from the eastern town of Gorazde. The massacre unfolded after Srebrenica - a designated U.N. "safe area" for civilians in Bosnia's war that followed the disintegration of federal Yugoslavia - was overrun by nationalist Bosnian Serb forces. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Nuclear safety research gets boost with new institute, $66m funding as S'pore weighs energy viability Singapore Man who killed 5-year-old daughter gets life sentence after he appeals against 35-year jail term Singapore More than 14,300 people checked during 7-week-long anti-crime ops Singapore Over 150 e-bikes and other non-compliant mobility devices impounded in last 2 months: LTA Singapore S'porean who defaulted on NS obligations used fake Malaysian passports at checkpoints over 800 times Singapore Over 12,000 lower-income households to receive $60 in transport vouchers by end-July Business CEO salaries: At Singapore's top companies, whose pay went up and whose saw a drop? Singapore NDP 2025: Leopard tank transmission fault identified, vehicle to resume role in mobile column While the women opted to go to the U.N. compound, men tried to escape through nearby woods where most of them were caught. Some were shot immediately, and others were driven to schools or warehouses where they were killed in the following days. The bodies were dumped in pits then dug up months later and scattered in smaller graves in an effort to conceal the crime. General Ratko Mladic, who commanded the forces, was convicted of genocide by a U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague along with Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic. As part of the commemoration, nearly 7,000 people took part in a three-day peace march in reverse of the 100 km route that some Muslim Bosniak men managed to take from Srebrenica to escape the Bosnian Serb death squads. Two international courts have ruled the massacre was genocide but Serb leaders in Bosnia and Serbia dispute the term, the death toll and the official account of what went on – reflecting conflicting narratives of the Yugoslav wars that still feed political divisions and stifle progress toward integration with Western Europe and the EU. Last year, the U.N. General Assembly declared July 11 an international day of remembrance of the Srebrenica genocide, with many countries organising commemorations this year. "This can never be forgotten. Who can say this wasn't a genocide? Only a person without a soul," Sabaheta said. REUTERS
