CRIMINALS AT LARGE Families, friends, delegations pay tribute to the murdered youth of Tuzla

(Patria) - Today is a Day of Mourning in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On this day, May 25, 1995, a criminal shell from Ozren killed 71 people and wounded more than 150 at Kapija in the center of Tuzla. The victims were mostly young people, with the average age of those killed being only 23 years old.

Family members, numerous delegations, and citizens laid flowers this morning at the Alley of Youth in Slana Banja, where 51 victims of the massacre are buried.

The laying of flowers at Kapija began at 11 AM. The sounding of sirens is planned for 8:55 PM, commemorating the moment when the shell from Ozren ended 71 young lives.

Although 28 years have passed since this horrific crime against civilians, justice has still not been served to those responsible. For this crime, Novak Đukić, former commander of the Ozren Tactical Group of the Army of Republika Srpska, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for ordering artillery shells to be fired at civilian targets in Tuzla.

Before going to serve his sentence, Đukić fled to Serbia, where he still lives freely today because he has Serbian citizenship. All of this further irritates the victims' families, as Đukić is the only one finally convicted for this crime and he is not behind bars.