Čemerno massacre

The Čemerno massacre was an alleged massacre of the Serbs in the village of Čemerno, in the Ilijaš Municipality, near Sarajevo, on June 10, 1992, during the Bosnian War.

Immediately after the incident, one of the survivors was recorded by British television. According to his testimony, the attack had been carried out by Croats, while another eyewitness later also mentioned the Bosnian Muslims. Although later reports attributed it to Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina and "Muslim armed forces", the original indictment filed on July 17, 1992 mentions six individual Croatian persons. These indictments were also immediately published in Serbian media. The investigation was stalled and an attempt at their retrieval in 2005 by a media outlet was unsuccessful. By 2007, the County Prosecutor of Istočno Sarajevo claimed that the police had filed a full report in 2006, and that their investigation was being completed. Another news report mentions that a Muslim prisoner of war (captured later in the war) had confessed to participating in the killing and named several others.

According to different media information, either 29, 31 or 32 Serbs (military and civilians) were murdered. Evidence includes a video recording made at the site of the crime, which contains testimonies by one Petar Rašević and a surviving member of the Trifković family. According to the initial reports, those killed included 7 children.

As contradictory data appeared in the media, and the event has not passed a court validation yet, the full course of the case is unknown.

The houses and other belongings and property were plundered and burned. Three villagers who heard the attack and the cries of the victims were able to escape from their houses. Media reports include the names of at least two elderly women whose bodies were burned.

Republika Srpska media states that the Bosnian Army stole 1,500 sheep and 100 heads of cattle. Republika Srpska's Ministry of Internal Affairs has stated that 15 soldiers (3 in command, 12 perpetrators) were involved in the massacre.

In 1999, 30 bodies were exhumed from a mass grave in Čemerno by the Republika Srpska Commission for Searching Missing Individuals. As some were burned, the head of the commission's operating team, Slobodan Škrba, stated that not all bodies will be found. Forensic analysis of the exhumed victims showed that they were violently murdered, mostly with heavy objects. In accordance with the wishes of the families, the remains were re-buried at the Military cemetery in Sokolac.

In 2009, Mr. Škrba said that 49 Serb bodies have been exhumed in the area of Čemerno altogether.

None of the houses destroyed in the attack have been rebuilt, and Čemerno is now uninhabited.

On September 22, 2007, representatives of the Organization of Families of the Captured and Killed from East Sarajevo unveiled a monument to the victims in Čemerno.