Yale Professor: Killing Children in Prijedor Is Proof of Genocidal Intent
Pettigrew warns of crimes against the youngest and the survivors' struggle for memorials that local authorities have refused to approve for years.
Pettigrew warns of crimes against the youngest and the survivors' struggle for memorials that local authorities have refused to approve for years.
In his address on August 6, 2026, Pettigrew, a professor of genocide studies at Yale University, delivered a sharp assessment that systematic crimes against children in the Prijedor area constitute one of the most compelling pieces of evidence of genocidal intent in that part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. His presentation drew on specific cases of suffering, including testimonies from survivors who to this day continue to fight for the right to commemorate the victims.
Recalling the onset of the conflict, Pettigrew noted that in May 1992, the Bosnian Serb army and police launched brutal attacks on Bosniak and other non-Serb villages in the Prijedor area, including Kozarac, Hambarine, and Zecovi. "They destroyed homes, killed civilians, and took them to concentration camps. Among the victims of these crimes were children," Pettigrew said.
He particularly highlighted the tragedy of Fikret Bačić, who lost 29 members of his family in a single day. "Fifteen children and fourteen women were killed. In total, 159 villagers were killed in his village, and the youngest victim was only two years old," the professor emphasized, using this case to illustrate the scale of the suffering.
Despite the years that have passed, survivors still face obstacles in their efforts to erect a memorial to the murdered children in the center of Prijedor. "Survivors have repeatedly sought approval from the Prijedor City Assembly to erect a memorial in memory of the murdered children, but to this day, it has not been granted," Pettigrew said. A similar situation exists at the site near the 'Partizan' Sports Hall, where war crimes were committed, and where the placement of a memorial has also not been permitted.
In this context, the professor also recalled the judgment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) that for the first time confirmed rape as a crime against humanity, a ruling that resulted precisely from the horrific sexual violence against Bosniak women and girls. "Bosniak women and girls, some as young as 12, were subjected to this horrific violence," he stated, adding that three convicted perpetrators were released after serving their sentences.
Pettigrew also spoke about the crimes in Višegrad, where in two separate incidents nearly 70 women and children were locked in houses that were then set on fire. "In the rebuilt house on Pionirska Street, there is a memorial with photographs and names of the victims. There was no photograph of a baby only two days old, so next to her surname, it simply says 'no photo'," he said.
Quoting the testimony of a survivor from the Bikavac settlement, he cited her words: "Unfortunately, there were many children in that house." He added that the youngest child in that house was under one year old and that the majority of victims were younger women with their children.
All of the above, according to Pettigrew, forms a clear pattern. "This systematic effort to erase the children who represented the hope of the future generation is yet another indicator of genocidal intent in Prijedor and the Republika Srpska," he said. As additional evidence, he cited the fact that Duško Tadić, the first person convicted before the ICTY, openly supported the Greater Serbia plan that called for the removal of non-Serb populations, including children.
The professor stressed that the international community must strongly condemn such systematic violence. "The right of survivors to erect memorials for the children killed in Prijedor, as well as the establishment of a museum in the Bijela Kuća in Omarska, must be protected and supported by the European Union Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations," he said.
At the end of his address, Pettigrew expressed solidarity with the survivors and families of the victims, as well as with the Srebrenica Memorial Center, whose employees are being interrogated by the Zvornik Police Department. "The attempt to prosecute and intimidate those who preserve the memory of genocide victims represents an attack on all Bosniaks and survivors of genocide. It is a new form of denial that is part of a systematic assault on the culture of remembrance. From Srebrenica to Prijedor, the human right to truth and memorialization must be defended," he concluded.
