It’s 29 years since the horrific massacre of the declared UN “safe zone” Srebrenica, in which more than 8000 men and boys were brutally executed in cold blood by the Serbian army. Let’s remember what they endured.
The Srebrenica Death March
On 11th July, 1995, approximately 15,000 Bosnian Muslims attempted to flee Srebrenica.
During this attempt to escape, victims were subject to heavy fire by the Serbian army.
Out of over 11,000 who fled, only 3,500 made it to the Bosnian army’s territory, safely.
Thousands of those who were murdered, their bodies are still yet to be found to this day, as the perpetrators dismembered their bodies and scattered them between mass graves, making identification nearly impossible.
Around 2,000 civilian men who were injured or in old age gave themselves up and were murdered instantly. Able bodied men refused to surrender and fled in hope of finding safety. They call this the Srebrenicia “Death March” .
Survivors had walked 70 miles of terror over mountains and through thick forest, subject to regular military bombardment, in an attempt to escape mass genocide.
Srebrenica had been declared a safe zone for innocent civilians to take refuge, this is parallel to the events in Gaza, today.
Bosnia still struggles to recover from genocide 29 years on to this day. You can help Bosnia to heal, by donating to the Bosnia Appeal.
The Death Marches of Gaza
As we witness civilians in Gaza repeatedly seeking to take refuge in so called “safe zones” only to be bombarded thereafter and watching on as they run for their lives, one can’t help but to notice the heart-wrenching parallels between what happened in Bosnia and what continues to unfold in Palestine today. You can help a victim of the genocide in Gaza, in solidarity with the remembrance of the victims of Srebrenica, by donating lifesaving emergency aid to Gaza through our charity partner Revive.
