Mourners in the hamlet of Duljci in the country’s north-west commemorated the 22nd anniversary of the killing of 40 Bosniaks from the surrounding villages by Bosnian Serb police and troops.
“Those who were killed were civilians of Bosniak nationality, who were old and helpless. This crime is especially terrifying because members of the police and Bosnian Serb Army put the bodies on a pile and set them on fire,” said one of the mourners at the memorial event on Tuesday, Mujo Begic.
Begic said that the killers tried to cover up their crime by removing the bodies. Some of the victims’ remains were discovered and exhumed from a grave in nearby Duliba in 2000 but others have never been found.
The youngest victim was 13-year-old Aldina Vojic.
Ordinary people from the Ljutocka Valley area attended the anniversary memorial as well as local officials and the mayor of Bihac, Emidzad Galijasevic, who described the killings as ‘Bihac’s Srebrenica’.
“What is the most sad is that Ljutocka Valley suffered a great tragedy from crimes which were mainly committed by pre-war neighbours,” Galijasevic said.
“Today, 22 years after this terrible crime, we are sending the message with our presence that this kind of crime cannot happen ever again and that Bosniaks cannot allow former neighbours to kill them, innocent and unarmed, in such a cruel manner,” he added.
Galijasevic called for coexistence and tolerance, but said that crimes like this should never be forgotten.
Five people were sentenced to a total of 57 years in prison over the killings, but those who ordered them are still at large.
