New mass grave from 1995 Srebrenica massacre found in Bosnia

(Vatican Radio)  Forensic experts say they have found a mass grave in the northeast part of Bosnia-Herzegovina that most likely contains victims' remains of Europe's worst massacre since World War Two. The apparent victims from the 1995 Srebrenica massacre were discovered while United Nations judges ordered a retrial for two former officials who were acquitted of organizing Serb paramilitary groups involved in these and other atrocities.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report:

Investigators thought they already emptied the site near a gravel pit where more than 1,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred by Serb forces. But more than a decade after that discovery more remains have been found between garbage on the outskirts of Kozluk village some 70 kilometres north of Srebrenica.

Bosnia's prosecution office says the grave was found thanks to satellite images. Investigators suggest the grave contains remains of victims who were buried in July 1995.  So far, incomplete remains from around a dozen different bodies were found.

Bosnian Serbs killed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys when they overran the Bosnian town of Srebrenica during the war in 1995. Many were transported to different sites to hide what became known as the Srebrenica massacre. 

Hope remains

Ahmed Grahic now hopes he can finally burry the remains of more loved ones. "in 2003 when I came to another mass grave I approached it and said: 'this is my father'. A short time later I also found my two brothers and four uncles," he recalled. 

However Grahic still searches for his fourteen of his cousins to give them their own graves.       

Eldar Jahic of Bosnia's prosecution office hopes investigators will soon find the remains of these and other victims. "Already some remains have been brought to a commemorative center in Tuszla," he said, adding that "with help of DNA testing we hope to identify the victims."   

And, this week Bosnia detained a former ethnic Serb police commander suspected of taking part in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and charged a former Serb army officer over the atrocity.

Separately United Nations ordered a retrial for two former allies of late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic linked to the massacre.  

Notorious gangs

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia overturned the acquittals of Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, who were acquitted in 2013 of setting up and arming notorious Serb paramilitary gangs that committed atrocities in Bosnia and Croatia during the 1990s Balkan wars.

Stanisic's lawyer, Wayne Jordash, called the decision "extremely disappointing" and a retrial, the "worst of all options" as it will likely take years to complete when they will remain detained.

It came as a appointment for Serbia's government who saw the acquittals as a vindication of their long-held stance that Serbia did not deliberately assist crimes by Serb forces in Bosnia and Croatia.

Yet the organization "Mothers of Srebrenica" which gathers widows of the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, has welcomed the decision saying no crime in Bosnia could have been committed without their help.

Complicating efforts however is pressure on the U.N.-funded court to complete its remaining cases and close down.