Bosnians to mark 20 years since Srebrenica massacre left 8,000 dead

Foreign dignitaries were starting to arrive in Bosnia to mark the 20th anniversary of Europe’s worst massacre since World War II and attend the funeral of 136 newly found victims. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Jordan’s Queen Noor were among early arrivals, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton was expected. Foreign Affairs chief Federica Mogherini is planned to represent the European Union at Saturday’s commemorations. Some 50,000 people are expected to attend ceremonies mourning the 8,000 Muslim men and boys killed in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, which had been declared a safe haven for civilians by the United Nations.

We can offer no solace that fully addresses the pain borne by the victims’ families. But we must look back at Srebrenica with clear eyes, commemorate the tragedy, and learn from it.

President Barack Obama

On July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the Muslim enclave. Some 15,000 men tried to flee through the woods toward government-held territory while others joined the town’s women and children in seeking refuge at the base of the Dutch U.N. troops who were deployed to protect the town. But the United Nations did nothing to stop the fall of Srebrenica and the outnumbered and outgunned Dutch troops could only watch as Serb soldiers separated about 2,000 men from women for killing and later hunted down and killed another 6,000 men in the woods. The remains of Srebrenica victims are still being found in mass graves. This week, a proposed U.N. Security Council over a resolution that called the crime “an act of genocide” — as two international courts already have labeled it — was vetoed by Russia.

World srebrenica