Latest news with #warCrime
BBC News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Thirty years on from Srebrenica and communities remain divided
The silence is shattered by a guttural scream. A group of people scrabble on the ground, sifting through the soil. One of them holds up a watch they have uncovered; another, a scene on stage at Sarajevo's War Theatre is uncomfortably familiar for the audience at the world premiere of the Flowers of Srebrenica. The play reflects the grim reality of the events not just of July 1995 – but the ensuing decades of unresolved grief and divisions in Bosnia and Srebrenica Massacre remains the most notorious war crime committed in Europe since World War Two. Bosnian-Serb forces overran Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia, where thousands of Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslim, had taken refuge, believing they were safely under the protection of the United Dutch soldiers stood aside as Bosnian-Serb General Ratko Mladić directed his troops to place women and the youngest children on buses for transport to majority-Bosniak areas. Then, over the following days, he oversaw the systematic murder of around 8,000 people – most, but not all of them, men and boys. Mladić's troops dumped the bodies in mass graves. But later, to cover up their crimes, they exhumed then reburied the remains in multiple a result, body parts were distributed across multiple graves, causing endless anguish for the victims' families. Many of them are still searching for their relatives' remains decades later, though DNA testing has helped thousands of families to bury their family members at Potočari Cemetery, adjacent to the former UN have been able to identify body parts through scraps of clothing or personal belongings – as depicted in scenes in the Flowers of play also reflects the apparently deepening divisions in contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina. While the audience in Sarajevo delivers a standing ovation to the cast and crew, in majority-Serb Republika Srpska, political leaders repeatedly deny that genocide took place at Srebrenica, despite Mladić's conviction for the offence at an international tribunal in The Hague, as well as the earlier conviction of the Bosnian-Serb political leader Radovan Karadžić."I thought that when 30 years passed, we'd come to our senses," says Selma Alispahić, the lead actress of the Sarajevo War Theatre – herself a former refugee from Bosnia's conflict. "People get tired of proving the truth that's been proven so many times, even in international courts. The story of the hatred and spinning of facts serves only the criminals who profited from the war and who want to preserve their fortune today."Genocide denial is not the only symptom of the country's divisions. The Dayton Peace agreement brought an end to the war, just four months after the massacre. But it also divided Bosnia and Herzegovina into two "entities", on ethnic grounds. Most Bosniaks and Croats live in the Federation, while the majority of Serbs are in Republika is also a state-level government, with a member of the presidency for each of the three main ethnic groups. But most of the power lies at the entity recent months, Republika Srpska's president has been exploiting that to make mischief. Milorad Dodik has been pushing through legislation to withdraw from numerous national institutions, including the judiciary. This has brought him into conflict with Bosnia's ultimate power, the international High current holder of that position, Christian Schmidt, annulled the laws concerned. But Dodik refused to recognise those this year a court sentenced him to a year in prison and a six-year ban from public office for ignoring the High Representative's decisions. The verdict is currently under shenanigans have ensued – including legislation to establish a "reserve police force". The same terminology was used for murderous Serb militia during Bosnia's conflict."This is dangerous, playing with the memory of those who have experienced the 1990s," says Mr Schmidt."I see the irresponsible part of the political class playing with this. We need a clear presence of the international community on a military level – so EUFOR [the EU peacekeeping force] gets more responsibility in the sheer presence, promising people they will be supported in a peaceful manner." In the centre of Sarajevo, reminders of the anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre are hard to miss. Hundreds of people huddled under umbrellas in the pouring rain to pay their respects to the convoy carrying the remains of seven recently-identified victims who will be buried at Potočari Cemetery during the commemoration. Outside the city's shopping centres, video screens urge passers-by to "Remember Srebrenica".But just 15 minutes up the road, in East Sarajevo, there are no public references to the massacre. The Cyrillic script signs and Jelen Beer umbrellas indicate that this is Republika Srpska. And in the entity government's building, there is little enthusiasm for the state-level foreign trade minister Saša Košarac – a leading member of Dodik's SNSD party – claims that Srebrenica is used to deepen divisions and prevent reconciliation."In this country, Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs were killed – and crimes were committed on all three sides. It's important, when thinking about the future, that all the perpetrators, on all sides, should be held accountable," he says."Bosniaks insist on talking only about Bosniak victims. A crime has been committed in Srebrenica – no Serbs deny that – but we have the right to point out the crimes against Serbs in and around Srebrenica."But thousands of other people are focusing on solidarity with Srebrenica. On the eve of the commemoration, the Memorial Centre and Potočari Cemetery were already busy with people paying their respects. And they cheered the arrival from around the country of groups of cyclists, runners and motorcyclists. Mirela Osmanović says this support is crucial to Bosniaks who have returned to live in the area where their family members died. She was born two years after her two brothers were murdered at Srebrenica and now works at the Memorial Centre. But the recent tensions have left her rattled."The intense atmosphere produced by Republika Srpska's leaders really disturbs us, making us feel we're not protected anymore – and we're really worried about our future.""My parents say it looks the way it looked in 1992."For Milorad Dodik, manipulating the cycle of tensions is just part of his strategy to remain in power. But for people in Srebrenica, the ongoing ethno-political games only make the healing harder.
LBCI
24-06-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
UN condemns 'weaponization of food for civilians' in Gaza
The United Nations condemned on Tuesday the "weaponization of food" in Gaza as a war crime and urged Israel's military to "stop shooting at people trying to get food". "Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution," the U.N. human rights office said in written notes provided before a briefing. "The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime." AFP
Arab News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Sweden accuses Israel of war crimes over Gaza aid blockade
STOCKHOLM: Israel's refusal to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and its targeting of aid distribution points is causing civilians to starve, which constitutes a war crime, Sweden's foreign minister said on Thursday. In early June, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said deadly attacks on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted 'a war crime,' while several rights groups, including Amnesty International, have accused Israel of genocide. Israel has vehemently rejected that term. 'To use starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime. Lifesaving humanitarian help must never be politicized or militarized,' Maria Malmer Stenergard said at a press conference. 'There are strong indications right now that Israel is not living up to its commitments under international humanitarian law,' she said. 'It is crucial that food, water, and medicine swiftly reach the civilian population, many of whom are women and children living under wholly inhumane conditions,' she said. Sweden announced in December 2024 that it was halting funding to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, after Israel banned the organization, accusing it of providing cover for Hamas militants. Swedish International Development Minister Benjamin Dousa told Thursday's press conference that Stockholm was now channeling aid through other UN organizations, and was 'the fifth-biggest donor in the world ... (and) the second-largest donor in the EU to the humanitarian aid response in Gaza.' The country's humanitarian aid to Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023 currently amounts to more than 1 billion kronor ($105 million), while funding earmarked for Gaza for 2025 totals 800 million kronor, he said. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority said Internet and fixed-line communication services were down in Gaza following an attack on the territory's last fiber optic cable. 'All Internet and fixed-line communication services in the Gaza Strip have been cut following the targeting of the last remaining main fiber optic line in Gaza,' the PA's Telecommunications Ministry said in a statement, accusing Israel of attempting to cut Gaza off from the world. 'The southern and central Gaza Strip have now joined Gaza City and the northern part of the Strip in experiencing complete isolation for the second consecutive day,' the ministry said in a statement. It added that its maintenance and repair teams had been unable to safely access the sites where the fiber optic cable was damaged. 'The Israeli occupation continues to prevent technical teams from repairing the cables that were cut yesterday,' it said, adding that Israeli authorities had prevented repairs to other telecommunication lines in Gaza 'for weeks and months.' The Palestinian Red Crescent said the communication lines were 'directly targeted by occupation forces.' It said the Internet outage was hindering its emergency services by impeding communication with first responder teams in the field. 'The emergency operations room is also struggling to coordinate with other organizations to respond to humanitarian cases.' Maysa Monayer, spokeswoman for the Palestinian Communication Ministry, said that 'mobile calls are still available with very limited capacity' in Gaza for the time being. Now in its 21st month, the war in Gaza has caused massive damage to infrastructure across the Palestinian territory, including water mains, power lines and roads.
Al Jazeera
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Ukraine says Russian drone attack on bus kills 9, hours after direct talks
A Russian drone strike on a civilian bus has killed nine people, says Ukraine, with the attack coming hours after the two countries held their first direct peace talks in years. Four others were injured in the attack in Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy, officials said on Saturday, as Russia's Ministry of Defence said it had targeted Ukrainian military equipment. 'This is not just another shelling – it is a cynical war crime,' Ukraine's National Police said in a post on Telegram messaging app, which featured photos of the badly damaged vehicle. Ihor Tkachenko, head of Sumy's military administration, said on Telegram that a rescue operation was under way. Russia's TASS news agency, citing a statement from the Defence Ministry, said Russian drones had struck a Ukrainian military equipment staging area in Sumy. The strike came shortly after Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul on Friday to broker a temporary ceasefire. The 90-minute talks failed to reach a breakthrough, but ended with both sides agreeing to swap 1,000 prisoners in what would be the largest such exchange since the start of the war in 2022. Vladimir Medinsky, the lead Russian negotiator, expressed satisfaction with the talks and said Moscow was ready for further negotiations, including on a ceasefire. 'We have agreed that all sides will present their views on a possible ceasefire and set them out in detail,' he said after the meeting. A source in the Ukrainian delegation told Reuters news agency that Russia's demands were 'detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed'. The source told the agency Moscow had issued ultimatums for Ukraine to withdraw from parts of its own territory to get a ceasefire, 'and other non-starters'. Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi, reporting from Kyiv, said Medinsky had sent a clear message during the negotiations that Moscow was ready to continue the war for years – and had no problem in continuing to conduct the war at the same time as it held talks. 'And that is exactly what they have done,' said Basravi.
