Taking measures and actions within their competence, police officers of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), on Wednesday, in Duboka, Knezevo municipality, discovered several remains of persons from the previous war.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Institute for Missing Persons of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska were informed about that, SIPA announced.
The Prosecutor and an expert associate from the Special Department for War Crimes of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina coordinated the process of preparation and securing the location, in order to conduct an exhumation.
The remains of Bosniak victims from Večići-Kotor Varoš, who tried to move to Travnik via Vlašić in November 1992, were found in an extremely inaccessible location in a mountainous area.
SIPA continues its activities within this case.
In October last year, the remains of the victims, who were exhumed from a mass grave found at Lokvice on Igman Mountain, have been identified at the premises of the “City Cemeteries” in Visoko.
The complete remains of 12 victims of the past war were exhumed from the a primary mass grave, and it was assumed that the remains belong to Bosniaks from Donji Hadzici, who were killed at the site, who in the summer of 1992 tried to cross the territory under the control of the Army of the RBiH through Igman Mountain.
To several victims’legs were tied with a military belt. In addition to their clothing and footwear, there were also personal items such as medicines, personal hygiene items, jewelry.
The location of the mass grave was discovered through the cooperation of the institutions and the exchange of information between the Institute for Missing Persons of BiH, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and SIPA, and a significant contribution was made by the Federal Civil Protection Administration.
After exhumation, bone samples from the victims were excluded to establish their identity by DNA analysis. So far, DNA records for ten exhumed victims have arrived at the Institute for Missing Persons of BiH, and their remains have been officially identified by their family members.
