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Nine Bosnian Serbs Charged With Wartime Murder Of Almost 100 Muslims

The killings were allegedly committed in the Serb-dominated Nevesinje area in southeastern Bosnia.
The killings were allegedly committed in the Serb-dominated Nevesinje area in southeastern Bosnia.

SARAJEVO -- The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia-Herzegovina says it has filed an indictment against nine Bosnian Serbs over the killing of about 100 Muslim Bosniaks just after the start of the Bosnian War in 1992, the latest in a series of war crimes charges laid in the country.

A statement from the Prosecutor's Office on December 29 said the nine, former members and commanders of the Bosnian Serb wartime army, were allegedly involved the 1992 killings of dozens of women, seniors, and children between the ages of 2 years old to 15 years old in the Serb-dominated Nevesinje area in southeastern Bosnia.

"The remains of 49 people have been found, while the remains of 47 victims are still being searched for," the statement said, noting the accused were arrested on December 16.

It added that seven families were among those killed in the violence.

The announcement comes amid a series of arrests for war crimes by the Investigation and Protection Agency of Bosnia-Herzegovina (SIPA).

Bosnia's declaration of independence in 1992 helped spark the 1992-95 conflict that left almost 100,000 people dead and displaced more than 2 million.

As part of a campaign of intimidation and ethnic cleansing during the war, thousands of women and girls were subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence by military and paramilitary groups.

The indictment has been forwarded to the State Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina for confirmation, the Prosecutor's Office statement said.

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