Bosnia marks 27th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide
Baku, July 11, AZERTAC
Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday marked the 27th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide, bidding farewell to 50 newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre at a memorial service.
Every year on July 11, newly identified victims of the genocide are laid to rest at a memorial cemetery in Potocari, eastern Bosnia.
Thousands of visitors from various countries attend the service.
The memorial center is the focal point of remembrance for friends and relatives of the victims, mostly men and boys, murdered by Bosnian Serb militias.
After this year’s funeral, the number of burials in the cemetery rose to 6,721.
The youngest of the victims buried this year was Salim Mustafic, who was 16-year old when he was killed, while Husejin Krdzic, 59, was the oldest genocide victim among this year's identified victims.
More than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed when Bosnian Serb forces attacked the eastern town of Srebrenica in July 1995, despite the presence of Dutch peacekeeping troops.
The Serb forces were trying to wrest territory from Bosnian Muslims and Croats to form a state.
Dutch troops failed to act as Serb forces occupied the area, killing some 2,000 men and boys on July 11 alone.
Around 15,000 residents of Srebrenica fled to the surrounding mountains, but Serb troops hunted down and killed 6,000 more people.
The bodies of victims have been found from 570 places across the country.
In 2007, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that genocide had been committed in Srebrenica.
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