Family members identify wartime victims buried in mass grave on mount Igman

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Family members of ten wartime victims whose remains were exhumed at Lokvice on mount Igman, near Sarajevo on June 5, have identified their loved ones on Friday at the city cemetery in Visoko.

Authorities exhumed the remains of 12 people, reportedly Bosniaks from Donji Hadzici who were killed in the summer of 1992 when they tried to cross the Igman mountain to reach the area controlled by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Some of the victims had their legs tied up with army belts, and some were found along with their personal belongings, such as clothes, medicine, jewellery and hygiene items, Bosnia’s Institute for Missing Persons said.

The grave was found thanks to the cooperation and the exchange of information between Bosnia’s Institute for Missing Persons, the Prosecutor’s Office, the State Police and the Civil Protection Service in the Federation (FBiH) entity.

The exact location was determined when authorities found more than 30 bullet shells at the crime scene.

After the bodies were excavated, bone samples were taken in order to determine their identity through DNA analysis.

The Institute has so far determined the DNA of ten victims whose family members officially identified them on Friday. The Institute is currently working on determining the DNA of another two victims.

The families will decide where their loved ones will now be buried, the Institute said.

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