AFP, Srebrenica :Bosnia commemorates, today, the 20th anniversary of the massacre of around 8,000 men and boys in the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica, as debate continues to rage over its description as genocide.The remains of 136 newly identified victims will be laid to rest along with more than 6,000 others already buried at a memorial centre just outside the eastern Bosnian town.Thousands of men and boys were slaughtered by Bosnian Serb forces after they captured Srebrenica in July 1995 near the end of Bosnia’s inter-ethnic war, in the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II.Some 50,000 people, as well as dignitaries from across Bosnia and abroad, were expected to be present at the ceremony marking two decades since the massacre and a day of mourning will be observed throughout the Balkan country.International officials due to attend include European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and then-US President Bill Clinton, whose administration brokered the Dayton peace deal that ended Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war only a few months after the Srebrenica slaughter.Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic arrived at a memorial complex on Saturday morning and spoke with female relatives of the victims. Dozens of dignitaries from across Bosnia and abroad, were also expected to be present at the ceremony and a day of mourning will be observed throughout the Balkan country.Former US President Bill Clinton, whose administration brokered the Dayton peace deal that ended Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war only a few months after the Srebrenica killings, travelled to Srebrenica for the memorial.Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Britain’s Princess Anne and Jordan’s Queen Noor were also due to attend.The bones of newly identified victims will be interred beneath marble gravestones in the Potocari memorial cemetery, in what has become annual ritual as more graves are discovered.”One cannot describe with words how I feel today,” said Zijada Hajdarevic as she escorted the remains of her brother on Thursday from the morgue to the cemetery, where her grandfather and other close relatives are all buried.
