Grave opened near Mostar, search for bodies of Army of RBiH members underway

(Patria) - Above Goranačka krivina in Mostar, the opening of a grave has begun, suspected to be a primary one containing the bodies of murdered members of the Command of the 4th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Azra Penava, representative of the families of murdered members of the 4th Corps of the Army of RBiH, said they are here after receiving a large amount of information 32 years after the crime.

“They came to us and told us what is very important to us families of the 4th Corps. We are checking the allegations and the truthfulness of these statements. The competent authorities are 99 percent sure that this is a primary grave, and it is in our interest to find anything. The evidence would serve for further proceedings. Many whom we buried are not complete, many we haven't even found,” said Penava.

She recalled the “Rimski bunar” (Roman Well) grave, which was discovered in 2007, and which they thought was primary, but it was determined to be secondary. They found some bones there, which they buried. There were 10 identified individuals from the 4th Corps and several identified civilians.

“However, even after that, some small bones were found, and we buried them later. We survived that and the trials that last 20 years. We are seeking the truth – who killed and hid, and what is being done with those bones. No one has been convicted for this crime in domestic courts; Valentin Ćorić and Berto Pušić, who participated the most in moving graves, were convicted by international courts,” she said.

The Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide reminded that on May 9, 1993, members of the HVO broke into the Command of the 4th Corps and captured 12 members of the Army of RBiH, later brutally liquidating them and covering up the traces.