Dozens of bodies discovered in Bosnian mass grave believed to be victims of genocide carried out by Serb forces Authorities already find 94 bodies and expect to discover many more Victims believed to be Muslims and Croats killed in the summer of 1992 Bosnian Serb forces attempted to eliminate all non-Serbs from the region 1,200 missing people are still missing from the area Dozens of bodies discovered buried in a mass grave in northern Bosnia are believed to be those of Bosniak Muslims and Croats killed by Serb forces in the early days of the civil war. Forensics experts have already uncovered 94 bodies at the site in the village of Tomasica, near the Bosnian town of Prijedor, 260km north west of Sarajevo, and say they expect to disover many more. Initial excavations unearthed a seven metre thick layer composed of human remains hidden under artificial embankments. Forensic experts and Bosnian workers search for human remains at a mass grave in the village of Tomasica, near the Bosnian town of Prijedor Grim haul: Forensic experts have unearthed the 94 bodies so far, but believe there are many more yet undiscovered Genocide: Authorities believe the bodies are those of Bosniaks and Croats killed by Serb forces during their campaign to eliminate all non-Serbs from parts of the country The victims are believed to be Muslims and Croats from the Prijedor area killed in the summer of 1992, when Bosnian Serb forces had taken control of the region They were killed in a brutal campaign to eliminate all non-Serbs from parts of the country they controlled during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. Paramilitary units and the Bosnian Serb army expelled the non-Serb population, destroyed their homes and separated families while forcing thousands into detention camps where many were tortured and later executed Pictures of emaciated inmates at one of the detention camps, Omarska, resembling images from the Holocaust, shocked the world in the summer of 1992. More than 3,300 people were reported missing from the Prijedor area. So far the remains of more than 2,000 victims have been found and identified, mostly by DNA analysis. Bosnia's prosecution office said they expect this to be one of the largest mass graves ever found in this part of the country. A BRUTAL WAR AND AN HORRIFIC GENOCIDE THAT LEFT 250,000 DEAD The three-year Bosnian war was set off when a government dominated by Slavic Muslims and Croats declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1992. The war ended in late 1995 with an estimated 250,000 dead and another 1.8 million driven from their homes. Paramilitary units and the Bosnian Serb army expelled the non-Serb population, destroyed their homes and separated families while forcing thousands into detention camps where many were tortured and later executed. The country's post-war authorities have for years faced accusations that they are not doing enough to hunt down war crimes suspects. The UN tribunal in The Hague has sentenced six Bosnian Serbs for war crimes committed in the Prijedor area to up to 40 years in jail. And the Bosnian war crimes court, set up in 2005 to ease the caseload of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, sentenced seven Bosnian Serbs to up to 20 years in jail.

• published: 05 Oct 2013
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