Back حصار سراييفو Arabic Sarayevonun mühasirəsi AZ سارایوو موحاصیرهسی AZB Аблога Сараева BE Обсада на Сараево Bulgarian Opsada Sarajeva BS Setge de Sarajevo Catalan Obléhání Sarajeva Czech Belagerung von Sarajevo German Πολιορκία του Σαράγεβο Greek
| Siege of Sarajevo | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Bosnian War | ||||||||||
 Clockwise from top left: Crashed civilian vehicle after being fired upon with small arms; UNPROFOR forces in the city; Government building hit by tank shelling; U.S. airstrike on VRS positions; Overview of the city in 1996; VRS soldiers before a prisoner exchange. | ||||||||||
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| Belligerents | ||||||||||
|
Supported by:  Pakistan[1](Intelligence support and military equipment) |
Supported by:  North Atlantic Treaty Organization(1994–96) |
Supported by:  FR Yugoslavia(Diplomatic support and military equipment) | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||||
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| ||||||||
| Units involved | ||||||||||
 Croatian Defence Council Croatian Defence Forces |
 UNPROFOR (1992-95) |
 Yugoslav Ground Forces (April–May 1992) | ||||||||
| Strength | ||||||||||
 73,141 soldiers and irregulars[5](lightly armed) |
Rapid Reaction Force (1995)
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| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
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5,434 civilians killed, including 1,601 children 56,000 injured, including 15,000 children 55,000 – 145,980 expelled (estimated)[r] | ||||||||||
The siege of Sarajevo (Serbo-Croatian: Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav People's Army, the city was then besieged by the Army of Republika Srpska. Lasting from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 (1,425 days), it was three times longer than the Battle of Stalingrad, more than a year longer than the siege of Leningrad, and was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.[8]
When Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia after the 1992 Bosnian independence referendum, the Bosnian Serbs—whose strategic goal was to create a new Bosnian Serb state of Republika Srpska (RS) that would include Bosniak-majority areas[9]—encircled Sarajevo with a siege force of 13,000[10][11][12] stationed in the surrounding hills. From there they assaulted the city with artillery, tanks, and small arms.[13] From 2 May 1992, the Serbs blockaded the city. At least 500,000 bombs were dropped on the city.[14] Units of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) inside the city, who numbered around 70,000 troops,[15] without heavy weapons or armor, defended much of the urban area of the city throughout the war but were unable to break the siege. The siege was lifted following the signing of the Dayton Agreement on 14 December 1995. A total of 13,952 people were killed during the siege, including 5,434 civilians. The ARBiH sustained 6,137 fatalities, while Bosnian Serb military casualties numbered 2,241 killed soldiers. The 1991 census indicates that before the siege, the city and its surrounding areas had a total population of 525,980. According to some estimates, the total population of the city proper prior to the siege was 435,000. Estimates of the population of Sarajevo after the siege ranged from 300,000 to 380,000.[10] Sarajevo's population endured up to six months without gas, electricity or water supply during certain stages of the siege.[16]
After the war, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted four Serb officials for numerous counts of crimes against humanity which they committed during the siege, including terrorism. Stanislav Galić[17] and Dragomir Milošević[18] were sentenced to life imprisonment and 29 years imprisonment respectively. Their superiors, Radovan Karadžić[19] and Ratko Mladić, were also convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.[20][21]
- ^ Wiebes, Cees (2003). Intelligence and the War in Bosnia, 1992–1995: Volume 1 of Studies in intelligence history. LIT Verlag. p. 195. ISBN 978-3-8258-6347-0.
Pakistan definitely defied the United Nations ban on supply of arms to the Bosnian Muslims and sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles were airlifted by the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, to help Bosnians fight the Serbs.
- ^ Al-Bayati, Sundus. "A City that Doesn't Forget: Sarajevo Thirty Years after the War". Society of Architectural Historians. Society of Architectural Historians. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "Bosnia Heavy fighting Army-Black Swans unit part 1". YouTube. 30 May 2012. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021.
- ^ "Bosnia Heavy fighting Army-Black Swans unit part 2". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021.
- ^ a b Wilcoxson, Andy. "The Prosecution's Military Expert Testifies About the Command Structure of the Sarajevo Romanija Corps". Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ Mackic, Erna. "Siege of Sarajevo: perpetrators of deadly attacks remain unprosecuted". Social Europe. Social Europe. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ Ivan Tučić (February 2013). "Pojedinačan popis broja ratnih žrtava u svim općinama BiH". Prometej.ba. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
- ^ Connelly, Charlie (8 October 2005). "The new siege of Sarajevo". The Times. UK. Retrieved 10 May 2010.[dead link]
- ^ Hartmann, Florence (July 2007). "A statement at the seventh biennial meeting of the International Association of Genocide Scholars". Helsinki. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
- ^ a b Bassiouni, Cherif (27 May 1994). "Final report of the United Nations Commission of Experts established pursuant to security council resolution 780 (1992) – Annex VI – part 1 – Study of the battle and siege of Sarajevo". United Nations. Archived from the original on 22 February 2001. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^ Srećko Latal (25 June 1995). "Bosnian Army Says Battle for Sarajevo Will Last Months". Associated Press. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ "The Siege of Sarajevo: 'The blood of children has a different texture on white snow' – a survivor speaks, 20 years on". The Northern Echo. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
- ^ Strange, Hannah (12 December 2007). "Serb general Dragomir Milosevic convicted over Sarajevo siege". The Times. UK. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^ The inexhaustible well of Sarajevo, Manila Times 7 July 2024 | https://www.manilatimes.net/2024/07/08/opinion/columns/the-inexhaustible-well-of-sarajevo/1955686
- ^ John Kifner (6 December 1993). "Stalemate Like a Victory for Sarajevo". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ^ Stacy Sullivan (12 October 1995). "Lights, Water, Action: Life in Sarajevo Returns to the Basics". CSMonitor.com. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ^ "ICTY: Stanislav Galić judgement" (PDF). ICTY. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
- ^ "ICTY: Dragomir Milošević judgement" (PDF). ICTY. 12 November 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
- ^ Tran, Mark (2 March 2010). "Radovan Karadzic claims Bosnian Muslims 'killed own people' in Sarajevo". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
- ^ "UN appeals court increases Radovan Karadzic's sentence to life imprisonment". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ Bowcott, Owen; Borger, Julian (22 November 2017). "Ratko Mladic found guilty". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
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