REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PROCLAIMS APRIL 19 DAY OF MOURNING

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 3 /SRNA/ – A Day of Mourning will be observed in Republika Srpska on April 19 in remembrance of the victims of the Ustasha genocide in the Jasenovac concentration camp and its largest execution site, Donja Gradina, in the NDH from 1941 to 1945, the Republika Srpska Government decided today at a telephone session.

The Day of Mourning will be marked in accordance with the Law on Observance of Days of Mourning, the Government's Public Relations Bureau said in a statement.

This year marks the 81st anniversary of the breakout of the last group of Jasenovac inmates and the closure of the notorious Jasenovac concentration camp.

The breakout of the last group of prisoners took place on April 22, 1945, with the aim of revealing to the world the horrific truth about the atrocities committed against detainees in the Jasenovac camp system and its largest execution site, Donja Gradina.

The Jasenovac concentration camp was established in August 1941 and consisted of five camps.

The village of Donja Gradina was incorporated into the camp system. Ustasha forces transported prisoners across the Sava River by ferry to be executed in Donja Gradina.

This is evidenced today by mass graves in Donja Gradina - 105 burial fields.

According to the Donja Gradina Memorial Site, 700,000 victims of Ustasha crimes perished in the Jasenovac camp during World War II, including 500,000 Serbs, 40,000 Roma, 33,000 Jews, and 127,000 anti-fascists. A total of 20,000 children were killed in Jasenovac