By Talha Ozturk
BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) – The remains of 23 Bosniaks killed by Serb forces in the northwestern Bosnian town of Prijedor in 1992 were buried on Thursday.
A collective funeral saw relatives of the victims and a large number of citizens gather at the Poljana Stadium near Prijedor.
President of the Islamic Community in Croatia, Aziz Hasanovic, told mourners the second-largest massacre during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War was in Prijedor, adding the international community had preferred to close its eyes.
More than 5,200 Bosniaks — including 4,093 civilians — were killed, according to Bosnia’s Missing Persons Institute.
Around 2,000 victims have been located and identified so far in 100 mass graves in Prijedor and surrounding areas. The bodies of 777 victims of the massacre have yet to be found.
Mayor of Prijedor Milenko Djakovic, a Serb, also participated in Thursday’s funeral.
Speaking at the ceremony, Djakovic said he attended for people to live in peace and harmony in Prijedor.
Eighteen-year-old Ifet Vojnikovic was the youngest victim to be buried at this year’s funeral, while Sefir Hegic, 72, was the oldest.
After funeral prayers, the 23 victims were buried in village cemeteries.
Prijedor was the site of numerous war crimes carried out against Bosniak civilians by Bosnian Serb forces during the war.
Between April 1992 and December 1995, an estimated 100,000 people were killed and 2.2 million displaced in Bosnia. Up to 50,000 women, mostly Bosniak, were raped.
The Bosnian War was sparked by the break-up of Yugoslavia, which led Bosnia to declare its independence in February 1992.
Its capital Sarajevo came under attack from Bosnian Serb militias, backed by the Yugoslav army, in what became the longest siege in modern history.
