A BOROUGH is set to commemorate the massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims next week.

Blackburn with Darwen Council is organising a series of events to mark Srebrenica Memorial Day on Monday.

Their them will be ‘Combatting Denial: Challenging Hatred’.

The Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen, Councillor Suleman Khonat said:“This week will mark 27 years since the horrific genocide in Srebrenica where over 8,000 Bosnian Muslim people were murdered because of hate. We remember the innocent lives taken and join Remembering Srebrenica in commemorating these atrocities.

Blackburn with Darwen has always been an inclusive borough where diversity is celebrated. Let’s keep it that way”.

Borough leader Cllr Phil Riley said: “Our borough is a welcoming place where diversity is valued and celebrated, where people from different backgrounds, nationalities, cultures, faiths, ages and gender come together and support one another – and that makes our community stronger.

"What happened in Srebrenica 27 years ago is unthinkable here, and yet we must continue to tackle hatred and prejudice wherever we see it.

"The Bosnian genocide is one example of what can happen when hatred and intolerance go unchallenged”.