(MENAFN- AzerNews) Türkiye on Tuesday marked the 28th anniversary of the 1995
Srebrenica genocide in which over 8,000 Bosniak civilians were
brutally killed by Bosnian Serb forces, Azernews reports, citing
Anadolu Agency.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on twitter said: "On the
28th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, which has gone down in
history as a dark stain on humanity, I extend my deepest
condolences to the grieving families of our martyrs and all Bosniak
brothers and sisters."
"We will never forget Srebrenica, and we will never let it be
forgotten, to prevent similar atrocities from happening again," he
added.
Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz on Twitter quoted the statement of
Alija Izetbegovic, independent Bosnia and Herzegovina's first
president: "Whatever you do, don't forget the genocide. Because the
forgotten genocide is repeated."
"We still deeply feel the pain of what happened 28 years ago in
Srebrenica as if it were the first day. On the 28th anniversary of
the genocide, I remember our Bosnian brothers and sisters who lost
their lives," Yilmaz added.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also tweeted an image that said:
"We commemorate our Bosniak brothers who were martyred 28 years ago
during the Srebrenica Genocide, one of the darkest episodes of
history. We will never forget! "
Srebrenica genocide
More than 8,000 Bosniak Muslims were killed when Bosnian Serb
forces attacked Srebrenica in July 1995, despite the presence of
Dutch peacekeeping troops.
Serb forces were trying to wrest territory from Bosnian Muslims
and Croats to form a state.
The UN Security Council declared Srebrenica a "safe area" in the
spring of 1993. But troops led by Gen. Ratko Mladic overran the UN
zone. He was later found guilty of war crimes, crimes against
humanity and genocide.
Dutch troops failed to act as Serb forces occupied the area,
killing 2,000 men and boys on July 11, 1995 alone.
About 15,000 residents of Srebrenica fled to the surrounding
mountains, but Serb troops hunted down and killed 6,000 more
people.
Bodies of victims have been found in 570 different areas across
the country.
In 2007, the International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled
that genocide had been committed in Srebrenica.
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