Srebrenica Commemorates 30 Years Since 1995 Massacre of Over 8,000 Muslims

Srebrenica Commemorates 30 Years Since 1995 Massacre of Over 8,000 Muslims
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The eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica—a UN-designated “safe area”—held solemn ceremonies on July 11 to mark three decades since more than 8,000 Muslim Bosniak men and boys were systematically killed by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995—Europe’s worst mass killing since World War II, France 24 reported.

Thousands Join Annual Peace March in Bosnia to Commemorate Srebrenica Genocide Victims. This year saw thousands of survivors, family members, and international guests gathering at the Potočari Memorial Centre for a day of reflection and tribute.

The event saw the collective burial of seven newly identified victims, including two 19-year-olds, whose remains were interred at Potočari alongside over 6,750 others laid to rest in previous ceremonies. Mourners, among them genocide survivors, placed flowers at the memorial wall where each victim’s name is engraved as a testament to resilience and remembrance.

Many victims have been exhumed from dozens of primary, secondary and even tertiary mass graves; in countless instances family members can inter only partial remains, as bones were scattered across sites when perpetrators attempted to conceal their crimes.

International and regional courts have since convicted 54 individuals for crimes committed in Srebrenica. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić and military commander Ratko Mladić to life imprisonment, while dozens of domestic verdicts, some for genocide, have reinforced global accountability standards.

To date, 6,765 victims rest at Potočari, yet around 1,000 remain unaccounted for as DNA analysis and forensic archaeology continue to recover and identify remains across eastern Bosnia.

Last year, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica, underscoring the imperative “to remember and educate future generations” about the atrocity.