Bosnians mark Srebrenica genocide

Fifteen years after Serbs slaughtered almost 8,000 Muslims in what is believed to be one of the worst massacres in Europe, Bosnians hold a special ceremony to remember the victims.

Bosnians gathered at Potocari memorial in Srebrenica on Sunday to honor the victims of the Srebrenica massacre and pay respects to some 800 victims whose remains were only recently identified.

The bodies are scheduled to be buried along those of 3,749 others which were previously identified and buried at the cemetery. The bodies of many more Srebrenica victims are still awaiting identification.

Serbian President Boris Tadic and a presidential delegation from the United States attended the ceremony.

During the Bosnian War on July 11, 1995, about 15,000 starving Bosnian Muslims were forced to escape on foot to the relative safety of the Muslim-held territory, Srebrenica.

Although the United Nations had declared the enclave a “safe haven” two years earlier, Bosnian Serb forces slaughtered over 8,000 men and boys to ethnically cleanse Bosnian Muslims from the area.

In February 2007, the International Court of Justice designated the atrocities committed at Srebrenica as an act of genocide.