Srebrenica refugees protest

The protest blocked the main southern road into Sarajevo

The fifth anniversary of the Serb massacre of Muslims at Srebrenica five years ago has been marked by protests in Sarajevo and a minute of silence at the United Nations Security Council in New York.

Refugees say it is unsafe to return to Srebrenica

Muslim refugees, who have been living in Serb-owned properties in Sarajevo since they fled from Srebrenica when it fell to Serb forces, blockaded roads for much of the day in protest at official demands for them to return home.

The Muslims say that do not feel safe enough to return to Srebrenica which remains under Serb control.

International organisations overseeing the Bosnian peace process have put pressure on local authorities and courts across the country to pave the way for people to return to their homes to try to undo the "ethnic cleansing" of the war.

"We want to go back to our homes," said Kadefa Rizvanovic, who lost her husband after the fall of Srebrenica.

"We only demand security for our return."

Owners' rights

In the northern Bosnian town of Brcko, which is part of the Serbian half of the country, Bosnian Serb refugees staged their own protest against evictions in the town.

Bosnians have the right to reclaim their former homes - but can they do so?

The refugees, currently occupying properties of Muslims and Croats expelled during Bosnia's 1992-95 war, claimed that the evictions were based on private connections and illegal documents.

Under property laws imposed by the international community after the war, houses and flats in Bosnia must be returned to their lawful owners should they claim them back.

Occupants are to be evicted and provided with alternative accommodation by local authorities, an obligation which very often they say they cannot afford.

Admission

Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, in an apparent gesture of reconciliation, has acknowledged that a mass crime had been perpetrated in Srebrenica five years ago.

Four thousand bodies have been recovered from mass graves, and more than 3,000 still missing.

The UN Security Council paid tribute to the survivors of Srebrenica and pledged to bring the perpetrators of the massacre to justice.

"The tragic events at Srebrenica must not be forgotten," said Jamaican Ambassador Patricia Durrant, current president of the council.