Thousands mourn Srebrenica victims as tensions in Bosnia mount

SREBRENICA, Bosnia and Herzegovina: The remains of 30 victims of the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia were laid to rest on Tuesday, as thousands commemorated the atrocity´s 28th anniversary against a backdrop of surging tension, with the landmark peace deal that ended the war under pressure.

Bosnian Serb forces captured the ill-fated eastern town -- then a UN-protected enclave -- on July 11, 1995 and in the following days summarily killed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys, in an act labelled as a genocide by two international courts.

The remains of most of the victims were later found in mass graves in eastern Bosnia, where the perpetrators moved them from original burial sites to cover up the crime.

Many of the 30 victims buried on Tuesday were identified in previous years, but the families chose to wait until more of their remains were recovered.

“Now we know where his bones are... we know where we will go to pray,” said former Srebrenica resident Nedzad Mehinovic, whose father Idriz´s remains were among those buried on Tuesday.

The anniversary came as a political tug of war in recent weeks has seen some of the biggest cracks emerge in Bosnia since the end of the brutal 1992-1995 civil war with the signing of a US-brokered peace deal.

A day ahead of the ceremony, the top international envoy to Bosnia Christian Schmidt -- tasked with overseeing the civilian aspects of the Dayton accords that ended the war -- pledged to “ensure that legal steps are taken against all those who deny the genocide”.

The comment appeared to be a thinly disguised swipe at his chief rival in the country, Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, who has repeatedly refused to call the atrocity a genocide.