Thousands march in Bosnia for the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre

NEZUK, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Nearly 7,000 people embarked on a three-day peace march Tuesday through the forests of eastern Bosnia in memory of the thousands of victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe’s only acknowledged genocide since World War II.

The 30th anniversary of the mass killing of more than 8,000 men and boys from the Bosniak ethnic group, made up primarily of Muslims, in a U.N.-protected safe area in Srebrenica by Bosnian Serbs, was also commemorated at a somber event at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

The annual 100-kilometer (60-mile) march retraces in reverse a route taken by the Bosniak men and boys who were massacred as they tried to flee Srebrenica after Bosnian Serb forces captured it in the closing months of the country’s 1992-95 interethnic war.

“I am here today to support my son, Sultan, as he sets off on the march,” said Amir Kulagic, who was among those who took the route in 1995 and recalled that his “ordeal lasted for seven days and eight nights.”

Kulagic said he was proud that his son and his nephew decided to retrace the path but also sad because he could not accompany them due to poor health.

Also joining the march was Nirha Music, now a U.S. citizen, born after the war to a mother who survived Srebrenica.

“We are walking to see what our people went through,” Music said.

“It is not easy; all I can think about is, this is how it was when they were killing us and when they were getting us together to kill us,” she added.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations and the world failed the people of Srebrenica 30 years ago, not as a result of “an accident of history” but because of “policies, propaganda, and international indifference.”

“We must ensure the voices of Srebrenica survivors continue to be heard – countering denial, distortion and revisionism,” Guterres said in a video message to the General Assembly. “After Srbrenica, the world said, once again, `Never Again.’”

But the U.N. chief warned that hate speech is again fueling discrimination, extremism and violence, and war criminals are being glorified. He called on all 193 U.N. member nations to prevent a return of atrocity crimes and to confront genocide denial with truth and impunity with justice.

Denis Bećirović, the Bosniak member of the country’s three-person presidency, criticized the leaders of neighboring Serbia for denying that a genocide took place — despite rulings by two international courts. Their refusal, he said, is “illogical, immoral and unacceptable.”

“The leadership of Serbia does not want to face the truth and to reject the ideology and politics that led to genocide,” he said, pointing to convicted war criminals that they have made heroes.

“We do not seek revenge,” Bećirović told the assembly. ”We seek truth and justice.”

Most of the massacre victims were hunted down and summarily executed as they tried to flee through forests. Their bodies were plowed into hastily dug mass graves and later excavated with bulldozers and scattered among other burial sites to hide evidence of the crime.

Newly identified victims are reburied each year on July 11 — the anniversary of the day the killing began in 1995 — in the vast and still expanding memorial cemetery outside Srebrenica. The General Assembly adopted a resolution in May 2024 over vehement Serbian objections to commemorate the genocide every year on the anniversary.

So far, the remains of more than 6,700 people have been found and buried there. The remains of seven more victims, recently identified through DNA analysis, will be buried there on Friday.

Munira Subašić, president of the Association of the Mothers of Srebrenica who lost 22 members of her family including her husband and youngest son, told the U.N. diplomats it’s been very difficult for 30 years “to carry the pain in your soul,” and the denial of the genocide of Muslims by the Bosnian Serbs.

They were killed in a U.N. zone that was supposed to be safe, she said, and the United Nations, the world and Europe “were just watching in silence.”

Subašić urged U.N. member nations to join the Mothers of Srebrenica to fight against the denial of the genocide and injustice, and create a more peaceful world for children today. “Justice is on our side, and we’re going to win,” she said.

Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations

People participate in the "March of Peace" in memory of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in Nezuk, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Sefika Mustafic, 72, stands in front of her home in the village of Potocari near Srebrenica, Bosnia, on June 29, 2025. During the genocide a total of 15 members of her family were killed. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Saliha Osmanovic, 71, poses for a photo while holding pictures of her two sons and husband, victims of the Srebrenica genocide in the village of Dobrak near Srebrenica, Bosnia, on June 28, 2025. During the genocide a total of 38 members of her family were killed. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Fadila Efendic, 74, sits in her living room backdropped by the pictures of her son and husband, victims of the Srebrenica genocide in the village of Potocari near Srebrenica, Bosnia, on June 28, 2025. During the genocide a total of 22 members of her family were killed. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

People participate in the "March of Peace" to remember the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, in Nezuk, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)