A man holds a candle and a sign board to mark the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the NATO Aggression in Nis, Serbia, on March 24, 2019. Serbia cannot forgive NATO for the thousands of civilians killed in 1999, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said here on Sunday, two decades after the beginning of the NATO bombings. Under the slogan "We will forgive if we can, but we will forget only if we perish", leaders of the country, church and military, ambassadors and citizens gathered in downtown Nis with lit candles to mark the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the NATO Aggression. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu)

NIS, Serbia, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Serbia cannot forgive North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for the thousands of civilians killed in 1999, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said here on Sunday, two decades after the beginning of the NATO bombing.

Under the slogan "We will forgive if we can, but we will forget only if we perish", leaders of the state, church and military, ambassadors and citizens gathered here at a city square in downtown Nis with lit candles to mark the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the NATO Aggression.

Serbia started marking the Remembrance Day five years ago. Vucic told the gathering that preserving the memory of the victims of the 1999 bombing is vital for the survival of Serbian people in the future.

"Nobody was held responsible for these crimes. Serbian civilians, our children were a permitted target of the NATO aggression...these children and people will never be forgotten."

People watched a performance depicting a tragedy from the war, when on April 17, 1999, three-year-old Milica Rakic was killed by bomb debris in her house.

Vucic said Serbia will always see the death of 2,500 civilians, among whom 79 were children - as a crime, stressing that the Serbian people chose not to become a part of NATO, and opted for a policy of military neutrality instead.

During the event, speeches were also given by the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Irinej, Chairmen of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik, and Sladjan Vuckovic, an army officer that lost both of his hands while disposing of bombs that did not explode.

The NATO bombing started on March 24, 1999. During the 78-day bombing, around 25,000 objects were damaged, including airports, hospitals, schools, cultural monuments, road infrastructure, as well as the building of the Chinese embassy, where three Chinese were killed and dozens injured.