The Crni Vrh mass grave, discovered in 2003, is among the largest mass graves found in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

after the Bosnian War of the 1990s. It was discovered on the mountain Crni Vrh, and contained the remains of 629 Bosniak victims, killed by Serb forces in the villages surrounding

Zvornik Zvornik ( sr-cyrl, Зворник, ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in Republika Srpska, on the left bank of the Drina river. In 2013, it had a population of 58,856 inhabitants. The town of Mali Zvornik ("Little Zvornik") lies ...

in 1992 and

Srebrenica Srebrenica ( sr-cyrl, Сребреница, ) is a town and municipality located in the easternmost part of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a small mountain town, with its main industry being salt mining and a nearby ...

in 1995. The International Commission on Missing Persons said that the victims had originally been buried in other locations, but were reburied in the remote grave on Crni Vrh after the war in an effort to conceal the crimes.

Discovery and exhumation

In 2003, a mass grave containing the remains of 629 Bosniak victims killed by

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

forces was uncovered on Mount Crni Vrh, and became one of the largest discovered mass grave in Bosnia and Herzegovina following the Bosnian War of the 1990s. The exhumation of the mass grave began on 28 July 2003. On 20 August 2003, it was announced that 112 complete bodies and about 40 other incomplete corpses had been exhumed at that point, with hundreds more expect to be discovered in the grave. During the two-month exhumation of the site, Crni vrh was visited by numerous local and foreign officials, assuring the severity of the crime. Clothing and documents found in the mass grave indicated that the victims were mostly Bosnian Muslim civilians who were killed by local Serb forces in the period between April and June 1992 in and around

. The decomposed corpses of men, women and children were found. The body of a Muslim child between five and six years of age was found, killed by a bullet in the spine. The hands of some of the victims were tied before their executions.

Burials

On 15 April 2006, 42 of the exhumed victims from Crni vrh and another mass grave in Kazanbašča were laid to rest in the

Martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

cemetery in Memići near

Kalesija Kalesija ( sr-cyrl, Калесија) is a town and municipality located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, east of Tuzla. As of ...

Justice

To date, none of the Serb culprits have been brought to justice for their crimes.

References

{{coord, 44, 21, 20, N, 19, 03, 15, E, display=t Mass graves Massacres in Bosnia and Herzegovina History of Zvornik 1992 crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992 murders in Europe 1990s murders in Bosnia and Herzegovina