Chronology → Video Oral History

The Siege of Sarajevo 1992–1996

This Interactive FAMA Project integrates the documented chronology of the Siege of Sarajevo with first-hand testimonies within a single interface.

The material can be explored month by month by selecting any point between March 1992 and March 1996. For each chosen month, the user can review the corresponding textual chronology alongside video oral history interviews from the same period. By aligning the chronology of events with personal experiences, the platform enables a more layered, contextual exploration of how the siege unfolded over time.

The Siege of Sarajevo: Chronology 1992-1996

Compiled shortly after the war, this comprehensive chronology of the Sarajevo siege covers the period from March 1992 to March 1996. Structured by month and year, it draws on articles from the “Oslobođenje” newspaper, UN archives, reports from foreign correspondents, and citizen testimonies to document key social, political, military, cultural, and personal events of that time. By recording major developments and everyday survival, the chronology remains a vital reference for understanding how the siege unfolded and transformed every aspect of city life.

Oral History: The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996, video

Structured chronologically and thematically, this is the first and largest video oral history of the Sarajevo siege in the world, featuring nearly 1,000 interviews with over 450 citizens from diverse backgrounds. Produced soon after the war, it presents personal testimonies covering all aspects of life in the besieged city. This 30-hour collection serves as both an educational resource and a historical record, offering future generations an unparalleled insight into first-hand accounts of the longest urban siege in modern history.

Chronology

The first of March is proclaimed independence day for BiH, by decision of the RBiH Parliament.
Sarajevo: from Skenderija to Elektroprivreda, the tram follows a UN APC for protection. Antisniper protection is on standby, reserved for tall buildings with views of the streets and hills.
The Royal Swedish Theatre introduces heat to the National Theatre.
Serbia rejects the peace plan proposed by the great powers and required for them to lift sanctions.
The Bosnian Serbs fire at planes with automatic weapons. UNPROFOR personnel increasingly refuse to fly to Sarajevo.
British parliament: One MP in the Labour party accuses former UNPROFOR Commander Michael Rose of taking bribes from the Serbs, as well as receiving a photograph from Bosnian Serb Commander Ratko Mladic as a farewell present, in turn providing the Serbs with confidential NATO information on the flight schedules of NATO aircraft.
Sarajevo trams: Antisnipers teams are arrayed from Elektroprivreda to Marijin Dvor. Nearby are UN ambulances for the injured.
Antisniper teams cover the critical sections of the tram tracks.
UN spokesman, Alex Ivanko: “It seems the antisniper agreement from 94 wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.”
Richard Holbrooke, in Zagreb with Tudjman, Susak and Granic, puts pressure on the Croats to change their minds on the UN withdrawal from Croatia.
Bihac: a bag of flour costs between 450-500 DM, while chocolate costs between 7-9 DM.
The UN Command for sector Sarajevo establishes passive and active protection. They form plans to place large containers at the riskiest intersections and screens on the banks of the Miljacka, which would reduce visibility for the snipers. Another idea is to install concrete slabs on the tram to protect against snipers.
“Alpine Milk” appears in dairy stores..
The decision on changing clocks for daylight savings time in the future will be made by the minister for refugees and welfare and not the government, as before. Daylight savings time will begin the last week of March and first week of April.
The establishment of tram traffic is only an illusory success for UNPROFOR. It is a political issue. A commission is formed for the security of tram traffic.
At an auction in London on March 16th one can find a lock of Napoleon’s hair, as well as one from the Duke of Wellington, who won the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The latter’s lock of hair is 200 pounds. Napoleon lost the Battle of Waterloo; his lock of hair goes for 1,500 pounds.
Because the road to the airport closes, prices at the market rise. At the market those who are the quickest and have exact change get the cheapest deals.
Akashi conveys a message from the commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, Ratko Mladic: “For each murdered Serb, the Serbian side will close their entrances to Sarajevo, for 30 days,” on the occasion of the murders of children in Grbavica.
Transport of goods through BiH: a truck plunges into the Neretva with 23 tons of paint. The ongoing conflict causes goods to be uncontrolledly transported through its territory.
The Serbs fire on the UN at Gorazde. NATO planes circle the area at the time of the attack for 4 hours. The UN does not request directly an air intervention.
The Bosnian Serbs fire on Igman road. UN report: the Serb machine gun doing the firing is located in the center of Ilidza, so nothing can be done without endangering civilians.
Flights to Split halted.
Centralistic conception of the UN collapses, along with unified command for the former Yugoslavia, breaking into several smaller factions more adequate for the situation.
Belgrade accuses George Soros of being a CIA agent who recruits youth, indoctrinates them and then sends them back to serve foreign interests.
UNPROFOR suggests that to protect Sarajevans 150-200 containers be set down, three containers high. The City authorities reject the proposal because it would constitute a new Berlin Wall.
Massacre in the center of Tuzla: 19 killed, dozens more wounded.
A “Hercules” lands at the Sarajevo airport.
Renewed shelling of Tuzla.
UNPROFOR meets with the warring sides and receives assurances that UN planes will not be fired at. It is hoped that this oral agreement will be enough to reassure UN pilots.
The UN issues an ultimatum for the Serbs to return stolen arms, as well as to destroy a portion of them. UNPROFOR believes that the stolen mortars with traces of mud and snow were used for military training. During the UN visit, the Serbs weld part of the cannon.
Muhamed Filipovic, leader of one of the opposition parties in BiH, visits Belgrade. He meets with Slobodan Milosevic, who is not ready to recognize BiH.
Bosnian Serb television station “Srna”: “Radovan Karadzic will announce an immediate end to the war if ARBiH forces withdraw to their positions from December 24th, when he signed the agreement on the ceasefire.”
Radovan Karadzic proclaims a general mobilization.
UN mandate in BiH extended till November 30.
Radovan Karadzic appears in uniform after the defeat of Serb forces in Majevica. He extends an invitation for negotiations, and sends a letter to the U.S., Russia, the United Kingdom, France and Boutros-Ghali in which he demands an immediate end to the ARBiH’s actions to liberate itself. He claims that if there is continued conflict it will grow into a Balkan war.
Owen, in an interview with the BBC: “The sides have to gather around the negotiating table or it will be a bitter war, to a degree we’ve never seen before,”
Austria introduces a visa regime for Bosnians; the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BiH protests.