TUZLA, May 25 (BV)— Tuzla on Sunday marked 31 years since the massacre at Kapija, where 71 civilians were killed and more than 120 wounded after a shell struck the city center on May 25, 1995.
Authorities in Tuzla Canton declared May 25 a Day of Mourning, with flags lowered to half-mast and commemorative ceremonies held across the city.
According to Bosnian media and court findings, the shell was fired from positions on Mount Ozren by forces of the self-proclaimed Republika Srpska Army under the command structure of wartime Bosnian Serb leaders including Radovan Karadžić, Ratko Mladić and Novak Đukić.
The attack struck Kapija, a popular gathering place for young people, at 8:55 p.m. local time.
Most of the victims were under the age of 30. The youngest victim, Sandro Kalesić, was only two and a half years old.
“Taj dan je sve bilo puno mladih ljudi, svaka ulica, svaki lokal… Pala je granata i posjekla sve što je bilo veselo, razdragano, mlado i lijepo,” survivors recalled in testimonies published by Bosnian media.
Commemorations began Sunday morning with wreath-laying ceremonies at the Aleja mladosti memorial complex at Slana Banja cemetery, where many of the victims are buried.
Another memorial ceremony was held at Kapija at noon, while sirens were scheduled to sound across the city at exactly 8:55 p.m., marking the exact time of the attack.
“Everything suddenly went silent. Either dead or wounded. The music and lights disappeared, only darkness and ringing in the ears remained,” Dino Kalesić, father of the youngest victim, said in an earlier testimony.
The Kapija massacre remains one of the most painful symbols of civilian suffering during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.
Novak Đukić, former commander of the Tactical Group “Ozren” of the Bosnian Serb Army, was convicted by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the attack, but the case has remained politically sensitive for years.
The anniversary comes amid continued regional debates over war crimes accountability and remembrance in the Western Balkans.