Bosnia Muslims mourn their dead 25 years after Srebrenica massacre
Bosnia Muslims mourn their dead 25 years after Srebrenica massacre
SREBRENICA (AFP) - Bosnian Muslims began marking the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre on Saturday, the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II, with the memorial ceremony sharply reduced as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Proceedings got underway in the morning with many mourners braving the tighter restrictions put in place to stem the spread of COVID-19.
At 1100 GMT, a ceremony laying to rest the remains of nine victims identified over the past year began at the memorial cemetery in Potocari, a village just outside Srebrenica that served as the base for the UN protection force during the conflict.
On July 11, 1995, after capturing the ill-fated town, Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in a few days.
Sehad Hasanovic, 27, has a two-year-old daughter -- the same age he was when he lost his father in the violence.
"It’s difficult when you see someone calling their father and you don’t have one," Hasanovic said in tears, not dissuaded from attending the commemorations in spite of the virus.
His father, Semso, "left to go into the forest and never returned. Only a few bones have been found," said Hasanovic.
Like his brother Sefik and father Sevko, Semso was killed when Bosnian Serb troops led by Ratko Mladic entered the Srebrenica enclave before systematically massacring Bosnian men and adolescents.
