33 Srebrenica Victims to Be Buried at Genocide Commemoration

On the 24th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide on July 11, the remains of 33 more people will be buried at a collective funeral at the memorial centre in the village of Potocari, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Missing Persons Institute told BIRN.

"The youngest victim to be buried in Potocari this year is Osman Cvrk, born in 1979. He was underage at the moment of his murder, actually 16 years old," said the spokesperson for the Missing Persons Institute, Emza Fazlic.

"The oldest victim who will be buried this year is Saha Cvrk, who was 82 when she was killed. She is also the only woman to be buried in Potocari this year," Fazlic added.

She said that there are 140 more victims who have been identified at the Podrinje Identification Center in Tuzla at present, but their families have still not decided to bury them, mainly because the remains are incomplete.

"Thirty eight of these victims have been officially identified, both through DNA analysis and by their families, while the remaining victims have been identified on the basis of DNA analysis only," she added.

She also said that so far, 6,610 genocide victims have been laid to rest at the cemetery at the memorial centre, while the search for more than 1,000 missing residents of Srebrenica continues.

The annual commemoration at the memorial centre on July 11 is usually attended by thousands of mourners, Bosnian politicians and international diplomats.

Some of those joining the commemoration will walk around 110 kilometres to the site as part of the annual three-day Mars Mira (Peace March).

Peace March participants trace the reverse path of the Bosniak men and boys who tried to flee Srebrenica to safety after it fell to the Bosnian Serb Army in July 1995.

A group of...