Witnesses of the massacre in Biljani near Ključ: 258 men, women, and children killed in one day, perpetrators were neighbours

(Patria) - Even 34 years later, witnesses of the horrific crime in Biljani near Ključ do not understand what drove their neighbours to become executioners on July 10, 1992.

On that day, 258 men, women, and children were killed, including the youngest victim - four-month-old baby Amila Džaferagić, writes Federalna.ba.

So far, only Marko Samardžija has been finally convicted for this crime, sentenced to nine years in prison. The victims' families are not seeking revenge, but truth and recognition – that such a crime never happens to anyone again.

The autopsy report testifies to the scale of the crime. On page 70, under number 172, Amila Džaferagić, daughter of Šemsa, born on February 29, 1992, in Biljani near Ključ, is recorded.

She was identified by her father, and two baby pacifiers were found with the body. The report states that she was killed by a gunshot to the head.

Amila was not even five months old. On July 10, 1992, 257 other men, women, and children were killed along with her.

Jasminka Ćehić, a witness to the crime, recalled the moment armed soldiers arrived at the houses.

- They came in the morning, banged on the doors and said: 'Get out of your houses.' We came out, and then they separated us. They said: 'Women go up to the store, and men go here.' My two brothers, Rufad Ćehić and Elvir Ćehić, were taken away then - recalls Jasminka.

She never saw her brothers again after that.

Adnan Hodžić avoided certain death that day by lying that he was not yet 18 years old.

- They stood in a column of two, with their hands behind their backs. That is what remained most vivid for me. After about an hour, gunfire began to be heard from the direction of the school. It lasted for several hours - stated Hodžić.

After the shooting, he adds, silence followed, and then the sounds of excavators and trucks could be heard. That was the beginning of the cover-up of the crime.

Rajif Hodžić was 28 years old at the time and managed to escape, but his father did not.

- They immediately attacked around my house. We noticed that, and I somehow managed to get out of the house and climb over the hedge - recalls Hodžić.

There are many stories. Difficult and painful, but extremely important for preserving the truth.

Dursum Dervišević testifies that parents watched their children being taken away.

- My parents watched the column, they watched their children come to the school with their neighbours. No one returned alive - emphasizes Dervišević.

Edin Domazet recalls the scale of the crime within his own family.

- My father Fadil Domazet was killed, my uncle Hazim was killed. Twenty-three people with the surname Domazet were killed - neighbours and family - said Domazet.

The accused for the crimes in Biljani were people with whom they shared their daily lives. Neighbours, work colleagues, friends.

- We were like one. People used to visit us, sit, eat, and drink coffee. No one could have imagined that this would happen - says Bida Avdić.

In Biljani, time has been measured by one date for 34 years – July tenth, 1992.

Particularly brutal crimes were committed in the hamlet of Botonjići, where all 57 inhabitants were killed. Eleven elderly and infirm people were burned alive in a barn.

The bodies of the murdered residents of Biljani were found in mass graves Lanište one, Crvena zemlja one and two, and in a grave in Biljani itself.