World

Serbia bans Srebrenica anniversary rallies

July 10, 2015 5:35 pm

Serbian authorities have banned gatherings in Belgrade to commemorate the Srebrenica massacre, after right-wing groups threatened disruption.

Saturday is the 20th anniversary of the massacre, in which some 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb forces during the Bosnian war.

Activists had planned to mourn the victims outside the Serb parliament.

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The official memorial ceremonies will take place on Saturday in Srebrenica itself.

Serbian police responded to plans for counter-demonstrations by banning all gatherings at parliament on Saturday.

Serbia’s Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said he had taken the decision to guarantee “peace and security in the whole of Serbia”.

But the initiator of the planned commemoration in the Serbian capital, Dusan Masic, said it was “scandalous”, and showed “where Serbia is in 2015”.