On this day 79 years ago, Sarajevo was liberated from fascist occupation by the joint efforts and sacrifices of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and others. This day, clearly connected with anti-fascist achievements, is celebrated today as the Day of the City of Sarajevo.

The Yugoslav Army began the operation to liberate Sarajevo on March 28, 1945. The Second, Third and Fifth Army Corps, the 11th and 13th Krajina Brigades, the 18th Central Bosnian Brigade, artillery and tank units took part in the operations.

The peace lasted for 47 years, when Sarajevo started a new battle. On April 6, 1992, the siege fo the Bosnian capital began, in which 11,541 civilians were killed, died of hunger, cold, or disappeared, including 1,601 children.

A day earlier, on April 5, 1992, when thousands of citizens gathered in front of the building of the Assembly of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a peaceful protest with the banners “We are for peace”, the first civilian victims of the war were already recorded.

The material damage that the city suffered during the siege, primarily through the destruction of the housing stock and the destruction of cultural treasures and commercial buildings and roads was enormous.

The shells caused huge damage, but the biggest damage was suffered by civil, cultural and religious buildings. People were killed, while the civil, cultural, religious buildings and even hospitals were demolished.

120 mortars and 250 JNA tanks were stationed in the hills around Sarajevo.

A terrible example of the period was the massacre at the open market of Markale, when in February 1994, shells fired from enemy positions above Sarajevo and hit a crowd of people, taking lives of 68 Sarajevo citizens.

During the siege of Sarajevo, which began on April 5, 1992 and is one of the longest sieges of the city in recent history, nearly 12,000 people were killed, including more than 1,500 children, and 50,000 people were lightly and seriously wounded. The siege lasted exactly 44 months and ended on February 29, 1996.