TRIBUTE PAID TO 59 SERBS KILLED IN WAR IN AREA OF TEOČAK

BIJELJINA, MARCH 26 /SRNA/ - The Day of the Suffering of Serbs in the Teočak and Majevica areas was marked today in Bijeljina, and on this occasion, tribute was paid to 59 soldiers of the Republika Srpska Army who were killed in the area of this notorious military stronghold of Muslim forces during the war.

Darko Stević, president of the city's Organization of Families of Captured and Killed Soldiers and Missing Civilians, has said that on this day in 1993, 12 young men aged 18 and 19 were killed in Teočak, and that 59 soldiers of Republika Srpska lost their lives in this area during the war.

"We gathered in sorrow, but also with pride, so that the heroes of the Serbian struggle for freedom and the state are not forgotten, because history has shown that without a state, we would have no freedom," Stević told reporters.

In his address to those gathered, he emphasized that it is the duty of today’s generations to protect Republika Srpska, remain united, wise, and preserve the Serbian people in this region, along with their language, faith, and culture.

During the day of remembrance for the victims, it was highlighted that during the war, Serbian villages around Bijeljina, Zvornik, and Ugljevik were attacked from Teočak, and that Serbian civilians and defenders were killed. The youngest victim was a thirteen-year-old boy, and the oldest one was 83 years old.

Teočak also had a camp where captured Serbian civilians and soldiers were tortured, and the remains of many of them have yet to be found.

A memorial service for the Serbian victims from the Teočak area was held at the Church of St. George in Bijeljina, and families, friends, and comrades of the fallen laid wreaths at the central memorial at the city square.