MIODRAG BATINICA TESTIFIES ABOUT DEATH OF HIS 14-YEAR-OLD SON NENAD

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 3 /SRNA/ – Miodrag Batinica testified for the Memorial Center of Republika Srpska about the death of his 14-year-old son Nenad, who was killed on September 7, 1992, during the shelling of Mrkonjić Grad.

When the war began, Miodrag, his wife, and their sons Nenad and Nedeljko fled from Jajce to Mrkonjić Grad, settling in the village of Zborište. At that time, Nenad was about to start the eighth grade, while his younger brother Nedeljko was entering the third. Miodrag recounted that on September 7, 1992, his son Nenad went out for a bicycle ride and stopped in the company of their neighbor, 20-year-old Jadranka Tomić, when a shell was fired from the direction of Jajce. It hit a manhole nearby and ricocheted toward them. The explosion killed Nenad instantly, while Jadranka was severely wounded and died on her way to Banja Luka. When Miodrag returned home after being informed of the tragedy, he found his son dead and his wife wounded — a piece of shrapnel had struck her spine. His wife survived but suffered permanent consequences from her injury and the trauma; remaining paralyzed until the day. Miodrag emphasized that losing his son was the most painful moment of his life, and that Nenad and Jadranka were among the first civilian victims of the past war in Mrkonjić Grad and that their deaths should be commemorated with dignity, so that innocent victims are never forgotten. The Director of the Memorial Center of Republika Srpska Denis Bojić stated that testimonies like this are essential for preserving historical truth, according to a release from the Center. "The Center is systematically collecting and documenting available testimonies about the suffering of the Serb people, with the goal of creating the largest unified archive of audio and video statements from the families of killed and missing civilians and soldiers from the Defensive–Patriotic War," Bojić said.