Bradford: Memorial to be held for victims of Srebrenica massacre

A memorial service will be held in Bradford later to remember the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

More than 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were killed in less than a week in one of the worst massacres in Europe since World War II.

The commemorations will begin with the raising of the Srebrenica Remembrance flag in the City Park before the service at the City Hall.

Bradford Council said it organized the event to “raise awareness of how hate can lead to the tragic loss of life”.

In May, the United Nations voted to declare July 11 the annual day of remembrance for the victims of genocide.

A council spokesman said Bradford was the first city in Britain to put up a memorial stone to commemorate Srebrenica, which is in the Peace Garden behind the Town Hall.

Sabiya Khan, Bradford Remembering Srebrenica champion, said: “It is very important that we take this learning and awareness of these tragic events to all people in the district so that future generations learn tolerance and reject hatred.

“We are a diverse city where all cultures and faiths are embraced and supported to live peacefully together.”

The 1992-1995 Bosnian War erupted with the collapse of the former European country of Yugoslavia, when Bosnian Serbs launched a war to break away from the newly independent state they share with Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and Croats.

More than a million Bosniaks and Croats were driven from their homes in a Serbian campaign of “ethnic cleansing”.

On July 11, 1995, the town of Srebrenica – one of six safe havens declared by the UN – was captured by Bosnian Serb units led by General Ratko Mladic.

Bosnian women and children were herded into buses, but more than 8,000 men and boys were taken prisoner and later shot. Lightly armed UN peacekeepers did nothing to prevent what became Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II.