In the area of the town of Sveta Nedelja, two mass graves from the period immediately after the end of the Second World War were found – in the forest of Lipje and in the location of Trebež-Pakovica, from which the remains of 49 people were exhumed, the Ministry of Croatian Veterans of the Republic of Croatia reported on Friday.
They are mostly men between the ages of 20 and 40, including seven people between the ages of 16 and 20.
The Ministry received information about the possible locations of the execution sites from a living witness, Ivan Muzinić, whose testimony was crucial in initiating field research.
Over the past nine years, research was conducted at more than 600 locations in 20 counties, and more than 80 specific locations in 16 counties were excavated. In total, more than 2,100 remains of the victims were exhumed, of which 1,232 were properly cared for in cooperation with local self-government units and church communities, according to the press release.
The Vice-President of the Croatian Government and the Minister of Croatian Veterans, Tomo Medved, said that the systematic investigation of crimes from Porec was still being carried out and announced the burial of the exhumed victims.
“On August 23, there will be a joint funeral and burial of the 814 victims exhumed from the Jazovka pit, where we built a tomb and arranged a memorial area. We thereby confirm a clear and permanent obligation – to ensure dignity for the victims and truth for Croatian society,” he pointed out.
