Bosnia remembers Srebrenica victims

Bosnians yesterday commemorated the massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, marking the 25th anniversary of killings that shocked the world and have stood out as Europe’s only atrocity since World War Two constituting genocide.

Nine newly identified victims were buried at a flower-shaped cemetery near the town, where tall white tombstones mark the graves of 6,643 other victims.

On July 11, 1995, Serb forces commanded by General Ratko Mladic overran Srebrenica, which was protected by lightly armed UN peacekeepers from the Netherlands.

The Dutch soldiers did not defend their charges — but watched as the Serbs sent women and children away and executed all the men and boys they found.

The bodies were dumped into mass graves and later exhumed by UN investigators and used as evidence in war crimes trials of Bosnian Serb leaders.