The Tomasica mass grave was discovered by Bosnian authorities in September, 2013 close to the large mining complex, approximately 15 to 20 kilometers south east of the city of Prijedor. An area of 70m x 120m was excavated over 79 days. Remains of 435 people were found, of which 275 complete remains of the victims. It is considered to be one of the single largest mass graves found in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The remains were mostly from the victims who were killed in different areas around the city of Prijedor in the period from 1992 to 1995.
Read moreThe location of the mass grave remains unmarked, even though it lies in a populated area, some 15 minutes drive from Prijedor. Number of country houses and a soccer field are in the close vicinity of the former mass grave pit.
Before the war that area was part of one of the largest state companies, Ljubija mines.
The exact location of the Tomasica mass grave was revealed to the Bosnian Missing Persons Institute by a former Bosnian Serb soldier who took part in the cover-up, but wanted to stay anonymous. Bodies of mostly Bosniaks killed mostly in the city of Prijedor, village of Biscani or nearby prison camps Keraterm and Omarska, were loaded on trucks and dumped in the pits, some even 9 meters deep. 29 bodies found in Tomasica were of those killed in infamous Room 3 in Keraterm camp during 1992.
Tomasica mass grave is mostly a primary mass grave that initially had much more than 435 bodies. During the 1990s, a number of bodies, more than 350, were digg out and buried again in other locations, including a pit in nearby Jakarina Kosa, in the second attempt to hide the bodies.
Before 2013, there were several more attempts to find the bodies around Tomasica mine. In 2004, remains of 24 people were found, while two years later 10 bodies were cropped.
The latest attempt to look for more possible remains was in July, 2020. The exhumation was led by Missing Persons Institute in cooperation with the representatives of victims’ association, who have received information about the location from a person of Serbian nationality, residing in this area. Exhumation was concluded with no new discoveries being made.
City of Prijedor remains the area with the highest number of convicted war criminals. Total of 37 Bosnian Serbs were sentenced to 617 years in prison. The International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia sentenced Milomir Stakic to the highest sentence for crimes in Prijedor - 40 years in prison.