Bosnia-Herzegovina buries 9 more victims of Ahmici massacre

By Esmir Sabic and Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - A large number of people gathered in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday for the burial of nine people whose bones were recently discovered after they were killed in the 1993 Ahmici massacre during the Bosnian War.

A funeral prayer was held at the Martyrs' Cemetery in the Vitez town for the victims of the Ahmici massacre, who were killed by the Croatian Defense Council in 1993.

During the three-year Bosnian War, Croat forces buried the victim’s bodies in different locations to hide the crime.

The remains of the nine victims were discovered in the city of Mostar, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Ahmici.

The military forces of the Croatian Defense Council raided the village on the morning of April 16, 1993, killing 116 Bosniaks. A three-month-old baby was the youngest victim in Ahmici.

After the victims' bodies were buried, verses from the Muslim holy book of Quran were recited and condolences were offered to their families.

Behara Kermo, who buried her two brothers, said at the funeral that her brothers were 14 and 16 years old when they were killed.

"Alongside my brothers, my mother, father, and sister were also killed, but their bones have not yet been found. A total of 14 people were killed, with nine of them were children of my family," Kermo said.

The victims' identities were first verified by DNA testing and then confirmed by family members last month.

On April 16, Bosnia-Herzegovina marked the 29th anniversary of the Ahmici massacre.

The killings at Ahmici were declared crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

The Bosnian War began on March 1, 1992 and lasted until Dec. 14, 1995.

The war lasted more than three years, with over 100,000 people killed and around 2 million people forced to flee their homes.