Remains of seven genocide victims ready for burial at the Srebrenica Memorial Center in Potočari

(Patria) - The remains of seven victims of the genocide committed in Srebrenica in July 1995 are ready
for burial at the collective funeral prayer to be held on July 11 at the Srebrenica Memorial Center in Potočari. This year, as in previous years, the victims will be buried alongside their closest relatives, so a father will find peace next to his son, a brother will be buried next to his brother, and a son will be laid to rest next to the remains of his father.

The youngest victims to be buried this year are two young men who were only 19 years old at the time of their death. They are Senajid Avdić (son of Husejin) and Hariz Mujić (son of Ramiz).

Both were killed in July 1995, and they find their final rest 30 years later. The remains of Avdić were exhumed in the Suljići area in October 2010, and were found on the surface of this site.

Also found on the surface, unburied, were the remains of Hariz Mujić, during an exhumation carried out in March 2022 at the Baljkovica site, Zvornik, 27 years after his death.

The oldest victim to be buried is Fata Bektić (daughter of Huso), who was 67 years old at the time of her death. She is also the only woman who will find her final rest this year in Potočari. Her remains were found 26 years after her death, during an exhumation carried out in June 2021 in Potočari.

The remains of the victims who will find their final rest this year were found in graves discovered over the years at the sites of Liplje, Baljkovica, Suljići, and Kameničko brdo. In most cases, these are incomplete bodies, so some families of the victims will bury only one or two bones.

The remains of Hasib Omerović, who was 34 years old when he was killed, were exhumed as early as 1998, but for this very reason, due to the small number of skeletal parts found, the family has until now not found the strength to give consent for the burial of this victim.

This year, the following will be buried in Potočari:

- Senajid (Husein) Avdić, born in 1976;
- Hariz (Ramiz) Mujić, born in 1976;
- Fata (Huso) Bektić, born in 1928;
- Hasib (Adem) Omerović, born in 1961;
- Sejdalija (Alija) Alić, born in 1961;
- Rifet (Mustafa) Gabeljić, born in 1964;
- Amir (Ibrahim) Mujčić, born in 1964.

At the Podrinje Identification Project (PiP) in Tuzla, there are remains of nine victims who have already been identified through DNA analysis and by their families, but we still do not have consent for their burial. Despite the passage of time, families find it difficult to decide on burial due to the incompleteness of the skeletons, and therefore they wait for the discovery of the remaining remains.

Today, we again appeal to families who have identified their loved ones to give their consent for the final burial of the victims, as they still have time to make that decision before the collective funeral prayer.

At the Podrinje Identification Project, there are remains of another 45 victims who have been identified through DNA analysis, but the families have not come forward for official identification. The reason for this is the small number of skeletal remains that have been found and identified so far in relation to these victims.