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Bosnian Muslims commemorate Srebrenica genocide

(ANSA-AFP) - SREBRENICA, JUL 11 - Thousands of people were expected to gather Thursday in Srebrenica to commemorate the 1995 massacre of Bosnian Muslims during the country's civil war, two months after the UN created an annual day of remembrance of the genocide. On July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serb forces captured the eastern Bosnian town -- which was then a UN-protected enclave -- and killed 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the following days. The worst massacre in Europe since World War II has been ruled a genocide by two international courts. In May, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring July 11 the "International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica". The resolution was fiercly opposed by Serbia and Bosnian Serbs, who continue to play down the crime. Milorad Dodik, President of Bosnia's Serbian entity, has repeatedly denied a genocide occurred, and says his administration would not recognise the resolution. A UN court sentenced Bosnian Serb wartime political leader Radovan Karadzic and his army chief Ratko Mladic to life in prison for war crimes including the Srebrenica genocide (ANSA-AFP).