84 YEARS SINCE THE SUFFERING OF SERBS IN THE JAGODNJAČA PIT COMMEMORATED

LJUBINJE, JUNE 21 /SRNA/ – A commemoration was held today at the Jagodnjača pit near Ljubinje to mark 84 years since the mass atrocity committed against Serbs from the Popovo Polje area and surroundings, when Ustasha forces killed over 200 Serbs—men aged between 14 and 80—during a seven-day period, brutally tortured them, and threw them into the pit.

A Holy Liturgy and memorial service were held in honor of the victims, and flowers were laid in the Memorial Chapel in Veličani. A memorial prayer was also held at the Jagodnjača pit in Ržani Do near Ljubinje. On the night between June 23 and 24, 1941, Ustasha forces threw more than 100 Serbs from the right bank of Popovo Polje into the Jagodnjača pit in Ržani Do after subjecting them to torture. The killings continued up until Vidovdan (June 28), targeting Serb householders from the left bank of the Trebišnjica River. These men were deceitfully captured by their Croatian and Muslim neighbors, often while working in fields, on farmland, or inside their own homes. The primary victims were men—including boys—from villages in Popovo Polje such as Veličani, Dubljani, Galičići, Drijenjani, Dračevo, Mrkonjići, Zavala, Ravno, Poljice, and others. In addition to them, many Serbs from Stolac, Čapljina, Berkovići, and nearby areas also perished in the pit. According to testimonies from descendants, most of the victims were thrown into the pit alive after being tortured, often bound with wire or chains. The remains of more than 200 victims were recovered from the Jagodnjača pit and buried in the Memorial Ossuary in Veličani during the 1990s. Relatives of the victims gather each year at the Jagodnjača pit and beside a rock painted with the image of the White Angel to remember their brutally murdered ancestors and to pay their respects.