Many believers gathered in Žepa today, where they prayed for the killed fighters and civilians of this place and thus marked the anniversary of the genocide that was committed by the members of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) against the population of Žepa in July 1995. July 27 will forever be the day of remembrance of the innocent killed Bosniaks of this part of BiH. After the fall of the so-called “protected zone of the UN”, hundreds of innocent people were killed, and more than a thousand were persecuted or taken to death camps. Bosniaks in this area trusted the UN to protect them. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
“We are sending the message that we will never forget their sacrifice,” said Edin Effendi Šljivar, main Imam of the Majlis of Islamic Community Žepa, after a prayer was prayed for the souls of the killed Bosniaks and a memorial plaque with the new name of this religious facility was revealed. From now on, this mosque will carry the name of Mehmed Effendi Hajrić, the Imam who was killed during the war in Žepa.
The siege of Žepa lasted for more than three years. Investing superhuman efforts to defend life in the small mountainous municipality, around 800 innocent people were killed in Žepa. According to the local residents, the number would be far greater if the people of Žepa did not provide resistance. They had no choice; they defended their families and homes until the last moment.
“They were not making calculations, they were not small people who thought what would happen if they stepped aside,” said Remzija Effendi Pitić, the Mufti of Goražde, thus expressing respect for the people whose courage and desire to protect the piece of land and their family was greater than the desire to live.
Day of remembrance of the killed people of Žepa was also attended by Husein Effendi Kavazović, Reis ul-Ulema of the Islamic Community in BiH, who invited Bosniaks to never forget the victims of the aggression and to raise their children in the spirit of love for their homeland.
“Teach them dignity, teach them pride, and teach them to do good,” said Kavazović.
(Source: klix.ba/photo: faktor.ba)
