The Siege of Sarajevo

At the end of the 20^th century, during the wars in the former Yugoslavia, the city of Sarajevo survived the longest siege in human history. On 5 April 1992, Sarajevo, the capital of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was attacked. On 2 May 1992, the city was completely blockaded. The Yugoslav People's Army, aided by the Bosnian Serbs, surrounded the city and started to tighten the circle around 500,000 citizens.

The city, which lies in the valley of the Miljacka River, is surrounded by mountains on which 260 tanks, 120 mortars and many weapons of smaller calibre were placed. A circle 60 kilometres in circumference closed around Sarajevo. Sixty thousand (meters) divided by 2,100 (that's how many pieces of artillery were deployed around Sarajevo) tells you that at every 35 meters, there was a piece of artillery.

On 19 March 1996, the aggressor left the occupied district of Grbavica - which was the last part of the city to be returned to the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Dayton Peace Agreement - the deblockade process was known as a peaceful reintegration.

Over 11,000 persons were killed in Sarajevo – close to 1,600 were children. More than 50,000 persons were wounded, a great number of whom remain invalids. The siege of the city lasted from May 1992 to March 1996, or 1,395 days, which is the longest siege in the modern history of mankind.