Remains of at least 11 victims from World War II, including Franciscan friars from Široki Brijeg, found in Dalmatia

(Patria) - Remains of at least 11 victims from World War II and the post-war period have been found during field research in three locations in the Split-Dalmatia County, conducted by the Directorate for Detainees and Missing Persons of the Ministry of Croatian Veterans.

The Ministry announced that yesterday, the remains of two individuals were exhumed from individual graves near Vrgorac and Imotski, and today, the remains of nine individuals were exhumed from the Medviđa pit on Biokovo mountain near Zagvozd.

The victims were bound with wire, killed, and thrown into the pit, the entrance of which was subsequently mined.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Croatian Veterans Tomo Medved stated near Zagvozd that these are victims of partisan-communist crimes, presumed to have been killed at the end of World War II.

According to gathered information and testimonies, among the victims are Franciscan friars from Široki Brijeg, presumed to be three of them.

Fra Miljenko Stojić, head of the Vice-postulature for the 66 murdered Herzegovinian Franciscan friars in World War II and the post-war period, also spoke about this based on collected testimonies, stating that the friars and nuns from Široki Brijeg were killed primarily out of hatred for their faith.

- During the exhumation, it was determined that all these individuals were bound with wire. According to the information we have, these are at least three friars from Široki Brijeg, and after the exhumation, we will conduct anthropological analysis and do everything possible to try to determine the identity of the individuals - the minister added.

As stated in the announcement, before the pit research, it was necessary to clear the entrance of mines, which was done in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior, after which a speleological survey was conducted, followed by a demanding exhumation of the found remains, which is still ongoing.

In addition to employees of the Ministry of Croatian Veterans, members of the Croatian Army and Police are also participating in the field research.

- This is clear proof of our systematic and institutional approach to searching for all victims, both those from the Homeland War, which is our highest priority and on which we work daily, and in this segment of searching for victims of World War II and the post-war period, and we will continue on this path - Medved emphasized.

He announced that in the coming weeks, Croatia will take over the remains of the first 500 Croatian victims exhumed in Slovenia, and added that the Croatian model for searching for missing persons is also available to Slovenian colleagues.

He reminded that after exhumations, the remains of the victims are buried with dignity, as was the case last year when the funeral and burial of victims from the Jazovka pit were organized.

He also announced the construction of the largest tomb in the Macelj area so that all these victims can be buried with dignity.