Bosnia commemorates Srebrenica genocide as Türkiye shows support

SREBRENICA

A Bosnian Muslim woman mourns next to a monument with the names of the victims of Srebrenica genocide, at the Memorial Center in Potocari, Bosnia, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Thousands of people were gathering in Srebrenica on July 11 to commemorate the genocide committed 30 years ago by Bosnian Serb forces, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan marking the landmark anniversary.

Türkiye rejects all statements and remarks that seek to deny the Srebrenica genocide or "glorify war criminals" in defiance of international court rulings, Erdoğan said in a video message.

“We also condemn the attacks and harassment targeting people returning to their homes after the war.”

Erdoğan also reiterated Ankara's continued and unconditional support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and constitutional order.

The international community’s failure to take the necessary responsibility to stop the genocide is an irreparable weakness that will be remembered with shame, the president said.

“Tragically, what is happening in Gaza today shows that the international community has failed to learn the necessary lessons from Srebrenica,” Erdoğan said, touching on Israel’s attack in the Palestinian territory.

On the eve of the commemorations, thousands of Srebrenica peace marchers who have walked more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) in memory of the victims and survivors of the massacre arrived at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center.

The remains of seven victims of the massacre were laid to rest during commemorations, marking the bloodiest episode of Bosnia's inter-ethnic war in the 1990s.

The seven victims buried on July 11 at included a 19-year-old man and a 67-year-old woman.

The remains of most of the victims are incomplete and, in some cases, consist only of one or two bones, experts said.

The war broke out after Bosnia declared independence, a move supported by the country's Muslims and Croats, but rejected by Serbs.

On July 11, 1995, after a siege of more than three months, Bosnian Serb forces captured the eastern town, which was at the time a U.N.-protected enclave.

They killed 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the following days and buried them in mass graves.

Around 100 women were killed in the massacre, 80 of whom remain missing.

So far about 7,000 victims have been identified and buried while about 1,000 are still missing.

"For 30 years we have carried the pain in our souls," said Munira Subasic, president of the association Mothers of Srebrenica.

Her husband Hilmo and 17-year-old son Nermin were killed in the massacre.

"Our children were killed, innocent, in the U.N. protected zone. Europe and the world watched in silence as our children were killed."

Bosnian Serb wartime political and military leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic were sentenced to life imprisonment by an international tribunal, notably for the Srebrenica genocide.

But Serbia and Bosnian Serb leaders continue to deny that the massacre was a genocide.

"The Serbs did not commit genocide in Srebrenica... it did not happen", Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said this month.

Last year, an international day of remembrance was established by the United Nations to mark the Srebrenica genocide, despite protests from Belgrade and Bosnian Serbs.