MOSTAR, Bosnia and Herzegovina – A memorial service honouring fallen soldiers was cancelled on Monday after mourners discovered a pig’s head placed among the headstones at a Muslim cemetery in the divided city of Mostar.

The incident has reignited tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of general elections scheduled for later this year, with local leaders calling it the latest in a series of desecrations targeting the burial ground.

A group of Bosnian Muslims had gathered at the cemetery on Monday morning to mark the anniversary of a Bosnian army brigade formed in 1992. The cemetery is located in a predominantly Croat neighbourhood of the city.

When they arrived, they found a pig’s head sitting among the graves. In Islam, pigs are considered impure, making the act particularly offensive to the Muslim community.

Organisers immediately cancelled the service, which was meant to commemorate victims of the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.

Police have opened an investigation into the incident.

Mostar’s mayor, Mario Kordić, who represents the city’s Croat majority, said he was “deeply concerned” by what happened and condemned the “violation” of the cemetery.

Local Bosnian Muslim MP Sanel Kajan described the situation as “unbearable”, noting that the cemetery has been targeted multiple times with graffiti and vandalism.

The incident highlights the fragile ethnic relations that persist in Bosnia and Herzegovina 30 years after the country’s devastating war. Relations between the nation’s three main groups – Bosnian Muslims (also known as Bosniaks), Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats – remain strained, with such incidents often increasing before major elections.

During the 1990s conflict, Croats and Muslims initially fought together against Serb forces. However, the two groups turned on each other in a brutal 17-month war from 1993 to 1994, with some of the fiercest fighting taking place in Mostar and central Bosnia.

The Bosnian war claimed nearly 100 000 lives before ending in 1995.