Locals from the central Bosnian villages of Cerkazovici and Ljoljici marked on Friday 28 years since the massacre of Bosniaks that was committed by Bosnian Serb forces there during the war, which resulted in the death of 23 civilians.

“As every year, we have gathered today to remember our martyrs who gave their lives to defend and protect our state, Bosnia and Herzegovina, our faith, our fatherland and our lives. We must not forget the past, but we must live in the present with these ordeals because of which we have gathered here today. We must at the same time be prepared for the future and to continue our life in this world (…),” said the local Imam, Semin Ceso.

Members of the reserve unit of the Republika Srpska militia have in 1992 rounded up locals from the villages of Ljoljici and Cerkazovici and took them to Tisovac, where they were executed by firing squad. The massacre left 23 civilians dead and four wounded.

The remains of the victims were later exhumed from a ditch near Cerkazovici. A collective funeral was held for 19 of the victims in 1999 and the remains of three more are yet to be found.

Three people received prison sentences longer than 20 years each for the massacre while the person who allegedly organised it, Jovo Jandric, was never caught.