COMMEMORATIVE EVENT TOMORROW MARKING 30 YEARS SINCE THE EXODUS OF SERBS FROM VOZUĆA, KRIVAJA VALLEY, AND OZREN

DOBOJ, SEPTEMBER 8 /SRNA/– A commemorative event will be held tomorrow in Doboj to mark 30 years since the exodus of Serbs from Vozuća, the Krivaja River valley, and the western and southern parts of Mount Ozren, announced the Homeland Association "Zavidović People".

Zoran Blagojević, the association head, told SRNA that the event is part of the “Paths of Exodus” march, which traditionally carries the message that Serbs will not give up until the bodies of around 130 comrades and civilians, most of whom were captured alive, are found. He also stated that they continue to demand a safe and sustainable return for Serbs to their ancestral homes, as well as accountability for those who ordered and carried out the horrific crimes against the Serb population. The commemorative event begins at 6:00 PM in the main hall of the Pavlović University in Doboj. Blagojević emphasized that this year, as in the past, participants of the march will follow the route taken on September 10, 1995, by the expelled residents of what were once ethnically Serb-populated areas. That territory was, at the time, occupied and completely destroyed in an operation codenamed "Hurricane" by members of the so-called Army of BiH and the El Mujahid Detachment, with the support of NATO aviation, rapid reaction forces, and Pakistani international peacekeeping troops. “On that day, September 10, 1995, the entire Serb population of the Krivaja River valley was either expelled or killed. Thirty Serb villages were burned, and 1,920 families with 7,680 members were displaced. A total of 459 Serb soldiers and civilians were killed - many brutally –while 130 are still missing,” Blagojević recalled. Apart from Muslim generals Rasim Delić, who was sentenced to three years but never served his sentence, and Sakib Mahmuljin, who fled to Turkey after his conviction, no one else has been held accountable for the crimes committed against Serbs in Vozuća. According to the schedule for the “Paths of Exodus” march, on Wednesday, September 10, buses will depart from Doboj at 6:00 AM, taking participants along the route: Doboj–Gračanica–Lukavac–Modrac–Turija–Tumare. Participants will gather at the church in Tumare at 7:30 AM, and at 8:00 AM they will begin the march along the old truck road route: Tumare – Brijesnica Gornja – Kvrga Malčići – Borovci – Lozna – Stog. This was the path taken by Serbs retreating from Vozuća and the Krivaja valley before the advancing forces of the so-called Army of BiH. Arrival in Stog is expected between 2:00 and 3:00 PM, at the site of the former community centre and the Church of St. George, where a religious service, wreath-laying ceremony, and speeches by guests and hosts will take place. The return is scheduled for 6:00 PM. The Vozuća Serbs were expelled from their centuries-old homes during the offensives of the so-called Army of BiH under codenames "Hurricane", "Farz", and "Badr el Bosna". The mass killing of Vozuća residents occurred between September 10 and 24, 1995, during an offensive involving 23,000 Muslim soldiers from the 2nd and 3rd Corps of the so-called Army of BiH, the El Mujahid detachment, and NATO airstrikes supported by rapid reaction units and the Pakistani contingent of international peacekeeping forces. With the fall of Vozuća, the ethnic cleansing and expulsion of Serbs from the Zenica and Tuzla regions, which began in 1992, was completed.