Thirty-third anniversary of Ahmici massacre commemorated with calls for truth and justice

The commemoration commenced with the "Path of Truth and Memory" march. Earlier in the morning, families gathered at the Martyrs' Cemetery in Vitez for religious services and prayers. Attendees emphasised the necessity of conveying the history of these events to future generations to ensure such horrors are never repeated.

A central theme of this year's gathering was the urgent appeal to locate the remains of those still missing. To date, the search continues for 15 local residents and six refugees who were present in the village during the attack.

In the early hours of 16 April 1993, the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) special units "Jokers" and "Maturice" launched an assault on the village, using the morning call to prayer as the signal for the attack. The massacre resulted in the deaths of 116 civilians.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) ruled that the killings in Ahmici constituted crimes against humanity. Several high-ranking officials and operatives were convicted for their roles in the central Bosnia atrocities. Dario Kordić was sentenced to 25 years in prison, though he was released after serving two-thirds of his sentence. Other convictions included Miroslav Bralo, sentenced to 20 years; Pasko Ljubicic, sentenced to eight years; and Tihomir Blaskic, who received a nine-year sentence. While Zoran, Mirjan, and Vlatko Kupreskic were initially handed sentences ranging from six to ten years, they were subsequently acquitted on appeal in 2001.