Bosnians prepare to mark 20 years of Srebrenica massacre

Foreign dignitaries were starting to arrive in Bosnia on July 10 to mark the 20th anniversary of Europe's worst massacre since World War II and attend the funeral of 136 newly found victims.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Jordan's Queen Noor were among early arrivals, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton was expected later in the day. Foreign Affairs chief Federica Mogherini is planned to represent the European Union at Saturday's commemorations.
     
Some 50,000 people are expected to attend ceremonies mourning the 8,000 Muslim men and boys killed in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, which had been declared a safe haven for civilians by the United Nations. The event includes a funeral for 136 recently found victims identified through DNA analysis.

     
On July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the Muslim enclave. Some 15,000 men tried to flee through the woods toward government-held territory while others joined the town's women and children in seeking refuge at the base of the Dutch U.N. troops who were deployed to protect the town.
     
But the United Nations did nothing to stop the fall of Srebrenica and the outnumbered and outgunned Dutch troops could only watch as Serb soldiers separated about 2,000 men from women for killing and later hunted down and killed another 6,000 men in the woods.
     
The remains of Srebrenica victims are still being found in mass graves. So far, remains of some 7,000 victims have been excavated from 93 graves or collected from 314 surface locations and identified through DNA technology. Remains of more than 6,000 were buried again at the Potocari Memorial Center where Saturday's events will unfold, just across the road from the former U.N. base.