Baby Fatima Muhić

Mass Grave in Srebrenica Dug by Dutch UN Soldiers

In Srebrenica, a mass grave exists that was not created by Chetnik forces, but by Dutch UN soldiers. This grave was located within the complex of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, merely 100 metres from the former battery factory that served as the headquarters of the Dutch battalion during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Evidence of Atrocities Under UN Watch

The proximity of the mass grave to the UN base provides stark evidence that the inhabitants of Srebrenica were systematically killed under the observation of international peacekeepers tasked with their protection. Among the victims interred in this grave was the youngest known victim of the Srebrenica genocide: baby Fatima Muhić, who was born and killed on the same day.

Despite meticulously recorded evidence — documenting events second by second, including the identities of the victims — the Dutch government did not disclose the location of this grave to Bosnian authorities. It was only in 2012, following the moral reckoning of two former Dutch soldiers, that the location was revealed to Amor Mašović, the official responsible for the exhumation of mass graves in Bosnia.

Fatima Muhić: The Youngest Victim

Fatima Muhić’s death exemplifies the scale of atrocities committed by the Army of Republika Srpska against Bosniaks within the United Nations–designated “safe area.” The murder of a newborn child demonstrates that there was neither the intent nor the mechanism to protect civilians in Srebrenica. Her death stands as a profound indictment of the international community’s failure to intervene, despite its formal mandate.

Fatima’s mother, Hava Muhić, gave birth to her in the Dutch UNPROFOR base following the fall of Srebrenica during the night of 12–13 July 1995. Fatima’s remains were officially identified in December 2012. She was interred at the Potočari Memorial Center in 2013, alongside other victims of the genocide, when she was formally recorded under her own name. Hava continues to visit the grave, a testament to the enduring personal and collective trauma of the event.

The Exhumation and Confession

Amor Mašović has provided detailed accounts of the exhumation process. With the assistance of a Dutch non-governmental organization, he located two former members of the Dutch UNPROFOR contingent who had witnessed the formation of the grave containing six bodies, including that of Fatima. They disclosed precise information regarding the grave’s location, which they had observed while on guard duty, and recounted their decision to come forward after their government failed to act.

Mašović described the meeting with the soldiers as emotionally intense. “We spent most of the time in tears,” he recalled. “It was as if they were finally freeing themselves from a burden they had carried for years.”

Exhumation at the Battery Factory

The exhumation began at the site of the former battery factory in Potočari, revealing the grave’s contents in accordance with prior information. “We had been informed that the baby had been buried in a plastic bag,” Mašović stated. “During the exhumation, I personally retrieved her body. She was in a plastic bag filled with moisture and mud.”

The act itself reflects a deliberate disregard for human dignity. Following the birth, a Dutch soldier placed the infant — who lived only a few minutes — into a plastic bag and interred her in the mass grave. Mašović observed that such conduct cannot be characterized as human or civilized.

Legacy of Betrayal

This grave, and the circumstances of Fatima Muhić’s death, underscore the profound ethical and operational failures of the United Nations in Srebrenica. The systematic concealment of evidence, the lack of accountability, and the treatment of the youngest victim in such a manner represent a foundational betrayal of both international law and humanitarian principles.