(ANSA-AFP) - SREBRENICA, 11 JUL - Bosnian Muslims on Saturday mark 25 years since the Srebrenica massacre, the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II, with the memorial ceremony sharply reduced as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Organisers said the number of people attending the anniversary -- usually in the tens of thousands -- is likely to be lower than usual because of lockdown measures aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19.

Proceedings are scheduled to start in the morning. Then, at 1100 GMT, the remains of nine victims identified over the past year will be laid to rest at the memorial cemetery in Potocari, a village just outside Srebrenica that served as the base for the UN protection force, FORPRONU, during the conflict. On July 11, 1995, after capturing the ill-fated town, Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in a few days.

The episode -- labelled as genocide by two international courts -- came at the end of a 1992-1995 war between Bosnia's Croats, Muslims and Serbs that claimed some 100,000 lives. So far, the remains of nearly 6,900 victims have been found and identified from more than 80 mass graves.

Bosnian Serb wartime military chief general Ratko Mladic, still revered as a hero by many Serbs, was sentenced to life in prison by a UN court in 2017 over war crimes including the Srebrenica genocide. He is awaiting the decision on his appeal.

Radovan Karadzic, another Bosnian Serb wartime political leader, was also sentenced to life in prison in The Hague. - War against denial - The Srebrenica massacre is the only episode of the Bosnian conflict to be described as genocide by the international community.

And while for Bosnian Muslims recognising the scale of the atrocity is a necessity for lasting peace, for most Serbs -- leaders and laypeople in both Bosnia and Serbia -- the use of the word genocide remains unacceptable.

In the run-up to the anniversary, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic described Srebrenica as "something that we should not and cannot be proud of", but he has never publicly uttered the word "genocide". (ANSA-AFP). (ANSA).

 Srebrenica: Varhelyi, genocide, wound at the heart of Europe
(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, JUL 10 - "The Srebrenica massacre remains an unhealed wound at the heart of Europe. We have not forgotten what happened and our responsibility for not being able to prevent and stop the genocide," said the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, speaking before the European Parliament on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the genocide.
"In Srebrenica, Europe has failed, and today we are confronted with our shame. The genocide continues to persecute us and reminds us of our shared responsibility for preventing this from happening again. It is, therefore, our duty to remember Srebrenica forever," underlined the Commissioner.
"Recognizing our past will help us move forward - Varhelyi added - the EU will continue to support Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the whole of western Balkan region in the European path. Without reconciliation - he continued - there will be no peace, stability, and prosperity. That's why I invite the Western Balkans to move in this direction, heal the wounds of the past, keep to the commitments made for a common Europe." (ANSA).