Bosnia says hundreds of Srebrenica genocide victims still missing

By Vesna Besic and Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) – Hundreds of Srebrenica genocide victims are still missing despite 28 years have passed since the bloody massacre in the eastern Bosnian town, Bosnia's Missing Persons Institute told Anadolu.

Mujo Hadziomerovic, the head of institute, said that 12,469 bone remains were dug out during mass grave excavations after the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica.

"DNA tests and investigations regarding the cases are continuing. The process is not complete. We are trying to find the bone remains of 797 people killed in Srebrenica," he added.

According to him, 7,757 bodies have so far been identified and 6,721 victims of the genocide have been buried in the Potocari memorial and cemetery.

"81 mass graves, where the victims of Srebrenica were excavated, have been found since the end of the war. The largest mass grave is Kamenica, where bones of 1,153 people were excavated. Kalinovik is the farthest town to the genocide area, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Srebrenica. There, six Srebrenica youth have been found," said Hadziomerovic.

He also said there are DNA samples of 1,600 people in 12 morgues across Bosnia-Herzegovina, which are waiting for DNA match with a relative.

"We call them anonymous because there is no DNA-blood match," he added.

After the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, about 34,000 people were reported missing.

"Of 34,000, 29,704 have been confirmed. It is stated that 7,500 people are still missing in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Some 80% of those missing in Bosnia-Herzegovina have been found," said Hadziomerovic.

He added that the remains of 55 identified people are in the morgues because relatives of the victims are hesitant to bury them in the Potocari Memorial Cemetery in case more bones would be found.

Official records show that at least 8,372 people were killed in Srebrenica.

"According to the data we have, 563 children and 60 women were killed in Srebrenica," said Hadziomerovic.

Every year on July 11, newly identified victims of the genocide are laid to rest at a memorial cemetery in Potocari, eastern Bosnia.

Bosnia-Herzegovina this year prepares to hold collective funeral for 30 newly identified victims.

After this year’s funeral, the number of burials in the cemetery will rise to 6,751.

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.

- Srebrenica genocide

More than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed when Bosnian Serb forces attacked the 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.

The UN Security Council declared Srebrenica a "safe area" in the spring of 1993. However, troops led by Gen. Ratko Mladic, who was later found guilty of war crimes, and crimes against humanity and genocide, overran the UN zone.

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.

On June 8, 2021, UN tribunal judges upheld in a second-instance trial a verdict sentencing Mladic to life in prison for the genocide, persecution, crimes against humanity, extermination, and other war crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina.