Marching in memory of Srebrenica victims

More than 6,000 people have begun a march to remember the victims of the Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian war.

They set off from Nezuk on the route used by thousands of Bosnian Muslim men women and children to flee the UN safe haven after it was overrun by Bosnian Serb troops in July 1995.

Those troops, led by the recently arrested Ratko Mladic, went on to slaughter 8,000 men and boys in the worst massacre in Europe since World War II.

The marchers will arrive in Srebrenica on Monday for a ceremony to mark the 16th anniversary.

Vehid Dedic escaped the killing by walking for seven days. He said: “We who survived in 1995 have to be grateful to these people, our friends and those from around the world who have come to pay their respects to the victims.”

Lejla Muhic, who had come from London to join the march, said: “It is a tragic time that happened to Bosnia and I hope that people don’t forget about this, and that’s basically it.”

Earlier this week a court in Amsterdam ruled that the Dutch state was responsible for the deaths of three of the victims. Dutch UN troops were supposed to protect the safe haven when it was overrun.

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