Bosnia marks 31st anniversary of siege of Sarajevo

By Talha Ozturk and Lejla Biogradlija

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) — Residents in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital Sarajevo on Wednesday marked the 31st anniversary of the city's nearly four-year siege during the Bosnia War.

Dozens paid their respects and left flowers on the Vrbanja Bridge River, where Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sucic, the first victims of the Bosnian War, were killed by Serb snipers on April 5, 1992.

As Serb forces erected barricades all over Sarajevo, the situation deteriorated with the bombing of the city on April 6, triggering the 1,425-day siege.

Thousands of civilians were targeted in countless massacres during the siege that would last until Feb. 29, 1996.

Civilians endured daily bombings and mortar attacks by Bosnian Serb troops for those 1,425 days as shoppers in the market, people waiting in bread lines, and children playing in schoolyards were targeted indiscriminately.

Though 31 years have passed, the people of Sarajevo have not forgotten their suffering and loss throughout the ordeal, and commemoration ceremonies continue to be held for victims in the massacres.

- First victims of Sarajevo siege

While the EU accepted the independence of Slovenia and Croatia on Jan. 15, 1992, it stipulated a referendum for the independence for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

That vote would was held on February-March 1992, with 99.44% of votes in favor of independence and a 64% turnout rate.

After Bosnia and Herzegovina became an independent state, Serb forces began preparing to besiege the city, with snipers staging the first attack on Dilberovic and Sucic on April 5.

Troops also targeted civilians directly in another attack on the same day injuring many taking part in anti-war demonstrations.

The Serbs deployed 13,000 forces along the hills surrounding Sarajevo, equiped with heavy and light weapons.

While the Bosnian State Defense Forces were able to gather an army of 70,000 in the besieged city within 19 months these troops were poorly equipped and were unable to break the debilitating siege.

The bloodiest massacres took place in the Markale marketplace.

Shells that fell among the stalls on Feb. 5, 1995, took the lives of 68 people and injured nearly 150.

A second mortar exploded in the main market square again on Aug. 28, that year, killing 43 and injuring 75.

- Victims everywhere

Besides the Markale massacres, thousands of civilians trying to meet their daily needs in the besieged capital also became victims of the attacks.

On June 26, 1993, as many as seven children playing on Bakareva Street in the district of Bistrik were killed by Serb forces firing from the nearby mountains where they were stationed.

Many perished in the attacks on the streets of the Dobrinja 3 district, along with others who died when mortar shells hit the funerals of victims.

On May 27, 1992, civilians were hit by mortar shells as they were waiting in lines for bread rations on Vase Miskina Street in the Ferhadija district. Twenty-six people were killed, and 108 others hurt.

Residents on the Halaci street in the historical Ottoman bazaar Bascarsija were also among the victims of the mortar shells. On Aug. 23, 1992, eight people died and three others were injured there.

The Boljakov Potok area in Sarajevo's Novi Grad municipality was the target of howitzers on Sept. 28, 1992. A mortar shell that hit Bosniak civilians gathered for funeral prayers killed nine and seriously wounded 20 others.

Similarly, 11 civilians fell victim to artillery on Aug. 30, 1992 at the marketplace in Alipasino Polje.

Six children were killed in the same vicinity when, on June 22, 1994, they were hit by three mortar shells.

- Average of 329 mortar attacks daily

During the nearly four-year siege, 11,541 civilians, 1,601 of whom were children, were killed, while more than 50,000 were injured, records show.

According to estimates, an average of 329 mortar shells were fired on Sarajevo every day, with more than 500,000 bombs dropped in total.

Historical and cultural artifacts, along with infrastructure, in Sarajevo, which has hosted many civilizations throughout history, were also damaged during the prolonged blockade.

The bloody war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended on Nov. 21, 1995, at Dayton Air Base in the US state of Ohio, with the agreement of the Bosniak, Serb, and Croat sides.

The Dayton Peace Treaty was initialed by the late Alija Izetbegovic, the first president of independent Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, and former Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, at the initiative of US diplomat Richard Holbrooke.

Buildings in Sarajevo still carry the scars of the pogrom, and the places where people lost their lives in the bombardments are known as the "Sarajevo Rose," and marked with a red sign.

- Jerusalem of Europe

Described as the "Jerusalem of Europe" due to its religious diversity, Sarajevo experienced turning points throughout history.

The city was bombed by Nazi Germany on April 6, 1941. It was liberated on the same day four years later in an operation launched by the former Yugoslavian army against the occupying forces

World War II resulted in the deaths of 10,961 residents of Sarajevo, 7,092 of whom were Jews.

The city was attacked again on that day 51 years later, this time bombed by Serb forces.

April 6 is celebrated as Sarajevo City Day marking the liberation of the capital from Nazi occupation, while at the same time honoring the victims of the 1992-1996 siege.