Sarajevo marks the 31st anniversary of the Markale Massacre, pays tribute to victims

On this day in 1995, 43 Sarajevo residents were killed and 84 were wounded, some seriously, by a mortar shell fired from positions of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) on Mount Trebevic, near the northern entrance to the Markale City Market.

Those who lost their lives that day were: Omer Ajanovic, Hidajet Alic, Salko Alic, Zeno Basevic, Husein Baktasevic, Sevda Brkan-Kruscica, Vera Brutus-Dukic, Halida Cepic, Pasa Crncalo, Mejra Cocalic, Razija Colic, Esad Coranbegic, Dario Dlouhi, Salko Durakovic, Alija Dzevlan, Najla Fazlic, Rijad Garbo, Ibrahim Hajvaz, Meho Herceglic, Jasmina Hodzic, Hajrudin Hozo, Jusuf Hasimbegovic, Adnan Ibrahimagic, Ilija Karanovic, Mesudija Kerovic, Vehid Komar, Muhamed Kukic, Mirsad Kovacevic, Hasim Kurtovic, Ismet Klaric, Masija Loncar, Osman Mahmutovic, Senad Muratovic, Goran Poturkovic, Blazenka Smoljan, Hamid Smajlhodzic, Hajro Satrovic, Samir Topuzovic, Hamza Tunovic, Ajdin Vukotic, Sabaheta Vukotic, Meho Zeco and Narima Ziga.

For war crimes committed against the people of Sarajevo, including the two Markale massacres, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague convicted senior Army of Republika Srpska officers Stanislav Galic and Dragomir Milosevic, sentencing Galic to life imprisonment and Milosevic to 29 years in prison.

Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Becirovic said he had come to pay tribute to the innocent victims and express solidarity with their families and all citizens of Sarajevo.

"We want to build a secure future, and forgetting is the greatest enemy of such a future. That is why it is important to be here, as well as at other sites of suffering, and to preserve the truth," Becirovic said.

Sarajevo Mayor Samir Avdic said it was an obligation to pay tribute to fellow citizens who were innocently killed 31 years ago during the aggression against Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He added that the death of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic yesterday showed that, in the end, everything falls into place, while the memory of their fellow citizens who lost their lives serves as a reminder never to forget what happened.