Srebrenica anniversary: Thousands gather to remember victims of Europe’s worst mass murder since the Holocaust

127 newly-identified victims of the crime have been buried on its 21st anniversary

The remains of 127 victims have been buried next to more than 6,000 others found previously in mass graves (Reuters)

Thousands gathered in Srebrenica to mark the 21st anniversary of Europe's worst mass murder since the Holocaust and to attend the funeral of 127 newly-found victims.

Family members sobbed as they hugged the coffins for the last time before they were buried at a cemetery next to 6,337 other victims found previously in mass graves. The youngest victim buried this year was 14, the oldest 77.

Fatima Duric, 52, buried her husband whom she saw last when Serbs overran the eastern Bosnian enclave at the end of Bosnia's 1992-95 war.

The United Nations had declared Srebrenica a safe haven for civilians, but that didn't prevent Serb soldiers from attacking the town they besieged for years. As they advanced on July 11, 1995, most of the town's Muslim population rushed to the nearby UN compound hoping that the Dutch peacekeepers would protect them.

But the outnumbered and outgunned, peacekeepers watched helplessly as Muslim men and boys were separated for execution, while the women and girls were sent to Bosnian government-held territory. Nearly 15,000 residents tried to flee through the woods, but were hunted down and also killed.

International courts defined the massacre of more than 8,000 people as an act of genocide.

Muslim men carry coffins of their relatives, newly-identified victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre (Reuters)

The victims were buried in mass graves, which were dug up shortly after the war by the perpetrators and relocated in order to hide the crime. During the process, the half-decomposed remains were ripped apart by bulldozers. Body parts are still being found in more than 100 mass graves, put together and identified through DNA analysis.

They are buried each year at the memorial centre across the road from the former UN base where most of the victims were last seen alive.

Ms Duric lost her husband as they fled with their two children through the woods and walked for days toward government-held territory.

"After all these years, his body was found. In fact, just a few bones. I am burying them today," Ms Duric said.