(ANSA-AFP) - SREBRENICA, JUL 11 - Thousands of people were
expected to gather Thursday in Srebrenica to commemorate the
1995 massacre of Bosnian Muslims during the country's civil war,
two months after the UN created an annual day of remembrance of
the genocide. On July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serb forces captured the
eastern Bosnian town -- which was then a UN-protected enclave --
and killed 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the following days. The
worst massacre in Europe since World War II has been ruled a
genocide by two international courts. In May, the United Nations
General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring July 11 the
"International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995
Genocide in Srebrenica". The resolution was fiercly opposed by
Serbia and Bosnian Serbs, who continue to play down the crime.
Milorad Dodik, President of Bosnia's Serbian entity, has
repeatedly denied a genocide occurred, and says his
administration would not recognise the resolution. A UN court
sentenced Bosnian Serb wartime political leader Radovan Karadzic
and his army chief Ratko Mladic to life in prison for war crimes
including the Srebrenica genocide (ANSA-AFP).
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
