Memorial to those killed in the last flight to Srebrenica

The crash of the Army of RBiH helicopter near Žepa on the night of May 7 remains one of the great mysteries of the aggression against BiH, writes the BiH news agency Patria.

After the crash of this helicopter, which took off from the heliport in Živinice, killing 12 passengers, the air bridge to Žepa and Srebrenica was suspended, which later affected the fate of the eastern enclaves, as commander of the 28th Division Naser Orić and his 15 comrades remained in Tuzla. After this event, the end of these two enclaves was foreshadowed, which soon happened.

On the occasion of the 19th anniversary of the genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica, a memorial to the pilots, doctors, and others killed during the crash of this helicopter will be unveiled, writes the Patria agency.

On the night of May 7, 1995, a helicopter took off from the Višća heliport near Živinice at 2:10 AM for Žepa. 19 passengers boarded the helicopter. Commander Orić was also supposed to return to Srebrenica on this helicopter.

- I was sitting with friends. They said they were going on that helicopter, but that I should stay in Tuzla because, if the helicopter crashed, someone from the command structure would remain - Orić previously stated.

Four doctors from Tuzla traveled to Srebrenica, who voluntarily accepted the invitation to help the people of Srebrenica. The flight was supposed to last a total of 23 minutes. At the Igrišnik heliport on Mount Žepa, where the landing site was marked with fires, Commander of the 285th Mountain Brigade Avdo Palić and Major Dževa Brgulja, with a group of soldiers, were waiting for the helicopter.

However, the eagerly awaited helicopter crashed near the intended landing site. No one knows why it overshot the landing site, turned back, and hit trees in the forest. 12 crew members were killed, including pilots Džemil Malkić and Enver Čokić, flight engineer Izet Džambić, and doctors Sead Halilović, Muharem Deljković, and Husein Halilović.

No traces were found on the helicopter wreckage to indicate that the helicopter was shot down by firearms. The report states that the cause of the helicopter crash is undetermined.

The opening of the memorial to those killed in this helicopter crash will be on July 9 at Vukolin Stan near Srebrenica. The organizer is the association "Survivors of the 28th Division Srebrenica", writes Patria.