Bosnia marks 24th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide

Bosnia Herzegovina on Thursday marked the 24th anniversary of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide by burying 33 newly identified victims of the massacre in a collective funeral.

Every year on July 11, newly identified victims of the genocide — which claimed the lives of over 8,300 people — are buried in a memorial cemetery in Potocari, eastern Bosnia. Thousands of visitors from various countries attend the funeral service and burials.

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.

Among guests at this year’s commemoration are a Turkish delegation led by Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu as well as onetime Serbian presidential candidate Cedomir Jovanovic.

With this year’s service, the number of burials in the cemetery rose to 6,643.

At the service, relatives of the victims bid emotional final farewells to their loved ones.

On social media, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote that history will never forget the Srebrenica genocide, which claimed the lives of more than 8,300 innocent people.

On Tuesday, Erdogan together with Bosnian officials and members of the public prayed for the victims and placed flowers on a truck carrying the bodies of newly identified victims in the capital Sarajevo.

Sarajevo locals showed great interest in the president and first lady Emine Erdogan, who took time to chat with them and have their photos taken.

Sefik Dzaferovic, the Bosniak member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina presidency, said it is difficult to be a member of a presidency whose chairman denies the Srebrenica genocide, referring to Milorad Dodik, the Serb currently helming the presidency.

Many Serbs in the region effectively deny the genocide in Srebrenica, minimizing it as a crime committed by a group of Serbs.

Osman Cvrk, who was only 16 when he was killed, will be the youngest victim to be buried this year. Saha Cvrk, the oldest, was 82. She is the only woman to be buried in this year’s ceremony.