Remembering Srebrenice massacre

July 11, 2005

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Srebrenica today to remember the massacre of over 8,000 Muslims, mostly men and boys, which happened on 11th July 1995. This is considered the worst atrocity in Europe since the end of World War II.

610 victims of the massacres were buried today after their bodies were recovered from multiple mass graves. 1,300 bodies have been identified with DNA testing but 4,500 body bags of human remain still need to be identified

Serbian president Boris Tadic attended the memorial and paid his tribute to the victims by bowing before their coffins. Tadic's attendance caused outrage among Serbian hardliners but has been applauded by the international community.

French, Dutch and UK ministers were also present, as well as former US Balkan envoy Richard Holbrook. UK foreign secretary Jack Straw apologized on behalf of the world community stating that it is "the shame of the international community that this evil took place under our noses and we did nothing about it". He also called it "sickening" that Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic, the men accused of overseeing the massacre, have not yet been captured and brought to justice.

Security was tight after two bombs were found in the area last week. More than 1,500 policemen are patrolling the area.