‘Just a few bones’: 30 years on, Srebrenica still buries its dead

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Potocari, Bosnia and Herzegovina – In a grassy vale dotted with achromatic gravestones, thousands of radical gathered to people 30 years since the Srebrenica massacre connected Friday.

Seven victims of the 1995 genocide, immoderate of whose remains were lone discovered and exhumed successful the past twelvemonth from wide graves uncovered successful Liplje, Baljkovica, Suljici and Kamenicko Brdo, were buried during the sombre day connected Friday.

Limited remains of 1 of the victims, Hasib Omerovic, who was 34 erstwhile helium was killed, were recovered and exhumed from a wide sedate successful 1998, but his household delayed his burial until now, hoping to retrieve more.

Zejad Avdic, 46, is the member of different of the victims being buried. Senajid Avdic was conscionable 19 erstwhile helium was killed connected July 11, 1995. His remains were discovered successful October 2010 astatine a tract successful Suljici, 1 of the villages attacked that time by Bosnian Serb forces.

“When the quality came, astatine first, I couldn’t – I didn’t – situation archer my mother, my father. It was excessively hard,” Avdic told Al Jazeera, referring to the infinitesimal helium learned that immoderate of his brother’s remains had been found.

“What was recovered wasn’t complete, conscionable a fewer bones from the skull.”

Zejad Avdic, 46, is the member of 1 of the victims buried - Senajid Avdic.

Families similar Avdic’s person waited decades for adjacent a fragment of bony to corroborate their loved one’s death. Many person buried their loved ones with lone partial remains.

The Srebrenica massacre was the crescendo of Bosnia’s three-year warfare from 1992 to 1995, which flared up successful the aftermath of Yugoslava’s dissolution, pitting Bosnian Serbs against the country’s 2 different main taste populations – Croats and Muslim Bosniaks.

On July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serb forces stormed the enclave of Srebrenica, a designated United Nations-protected harmless zone, overrunning the Dutch UN battalion stationed there. They separated astatine slightest 8,000 Bosniak men and boys from their wives, mothers and sisters, slaughtering them en masse.

Thousands of men and boys attempted to flight done the surrounding woods, but Serb forces chased them done the mountainous terrain, sidesplitting and capturing arsenic galore arsenic they could. Women and children were expelled from the metropolis and neighbouring villages by bus.

Thousands of radical attended the commemoration for victims of the massacre connected Friday, which began with a congregational Islamic supplication – men, women and children prostrating successful unison among the rows of gravestones.

After the prayer, the remains of the victims, who person been identified utilizing extended DNA analysis, were carried successful greenish coffins draped with the Bosnian flag.

The coffins were lowered into recently prepared graves. At each site, groups of men stepped guardant to instrumentality turns covering the caskets with soil, shovelling from adjacent mounds successful a solemn decision to the proceedings.

After the remains had been buried, the victims’ families crowded astir the sites, wiping distant their tears arsenic an imam recited verses implicit the caskets.

Men instrumentality turns covering the caskets with soil, shoveling from adjacent mounds of dirt.

‘I volition support coming arsenic agelong arsenic I’m alive’

Fikrera Tuhljakovic, 66, attends the memorial present each year, but this twelvemonth her relative was among the victims being buried.

She said she is determined to guarantee helium is remembered and that each of the victims are ne'er forgotten.

“I volition support coming arsenic agelong arsenic I’m alive,” Tuhljakovic told Al Jazeera.

Forensic scientists and the International Commission connected Missing Persons have, successful the decades since the wide killings, worked to find the remains of those killed.

More than 6,000 victims person been buried astatine the memorial tract successful Potocari, but much than 1,000 remain missing.

A pistillate mourns the burial of her loved 1 [Urooba Jamal/Al Jazeera]

In 2007, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared the events successful Srebrenica and the surrounding country a genocide. Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic were some convicted of genocide, warfare crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to beingness successful prison.

In total, the tribunal and courts successful the Balkans person sentenced astir 50 Bosnian Serb wartime officials to much than 700 years successful situation for the genocide.

But galore accused remain unpunished. Denial of the genocide besides continues – particularly among governmental leaders successful Serbia and the Serb-majority entity of Republika Srpska, which was established successful the northeast of the state astatine the commencement of the warfare successful 1992 with the stated purpose of protecting the interests of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to Emir Cica, Islamic Relief’s Bosnia state director, planetary institutions person not done capable to forestall events similar Srebrenica from happening again, with akin atrocities happening successful Gaza astatine the moment.

“When we spot what has happened, for example, successful Gaza, it is precise achy for america due to the fact that we recognize this [experience],” Cica told Al Jazeera.

For Avdic, Gaza is so a achy reminder of past repeating itself.

“Today we are burying our victims of genocide, and contiguous successful Gaza, genocide is happening, too,” helium said solemnly.

“I don’t cognize what benignant of connection to send; there’s nary effect connected those successful powerfulness who could really bash something.”