Bosnians begin 300km walk to remember Vukovar massacre

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia

A group of 20 people on Tuesday began to march hundreds of kilometers to Croatia from Bosnia to honor the victims of the 1991 Vukovar massacre.

The walk, entitled the Srebrenica-Odzak-Vukovar Peace March, began from the Potocari Memorial Cemetery in Srebrenica where more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed during the Bosnian War.

The group aims to reach Croatian city of Vukovar on Nov. 18 to mark the 26th anniversary of the massacre.

Vukovar, close to Serbia on the River Danube, was the scene of intense fighting during Croatia’s break from Yugoslavia.

Yugoslav soldiers together with Serb paramilitary troops kept Vukovar under siege for three months.

It is estimated that more than 3,000 people -- mostly Croats -- were killed and thousands more were kept in camps.

The city was virtually leveled during the siege.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has sentenced former Yugoslav army officials Mile Mrksic and Veselin Sljivancanin to 10 years and 20 years in prison, respectively, for a massacre of civilians in the city.

After the war, Vukovar was placed under UN administration and reintegrated into Croatia in 1998.

Zulfo Salihovic, chairman of the march’s organizing committee, said they will walk about 340 kilometers (211 miles).

"The purpose of the walk is to send a message that what happened in Srebrenica and Vukovar should never happen again," said Salihovic.

Blaz Kovacevic, another organizer, said Srebrenica and Vukovar were two places sharing the same pain.

"We must protect peace and never let such massacres, genocides happen again," said Kovacevic.