Muslim war graves in Koševo cemetery, Sarajevo. Shahid Martyrs' memorial in the background.
The Siege of Sarajevo was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. After being initially encircled by the forces of the Yugoslav People's Army, Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was besieged by the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996. The siege lasted three times longer than the Siege of Stalingrad and a year longer than the Siege of Leningrad. It is estimated that nearly 12,000 civilians were killed or went missing in the city, including over 1,500 children. An additional 56,000 people were wounded, including nearly 15,000 children. As a result of the high number of casualties and the wartime conditions, many of the dead were buried in makeshift cemeteries throughout the city and its surrounding areas. Parks, athletic fields and other open spaces were utilized as graveyards. One of the largest is Koševo Cemetery next to the Asim Ferhatovic Hase Stadium, a sports complex built for the 1984 Winter Olympics. It has seperate graveyard sections for Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic people, the majority of whom died between 1992 and 1995.
Size: 2592px × 3872px
Location: Koševo cemetery, Sarajevo
Photo credit: © Peter Alexander / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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