On this day, youth defended Sarajevo: Tributes paid to the city's heroes!

(Patria) - The month of June in Bosnian-Herzegovinian history represents a time when key battles for the defense of the city were fought in the Sarajevo area, but also when the greatest heroes of Bosnia and Herzegovina laid down their lives on the path to freedom.

One of the heroes, a sportsman, who exchanged going to the Olympic Games for the battlefield, is Vinko Šamarlić, whose life was tragically cut short on this day. At the same time, at the starting station "Ramo Biber" on Trebević, tribute was paid to Muhidin Magoda, Sulejman Zolj, and 25 members of the "Zelene beretke" (Green Berets), who were killed during the first attempt to break the siege of Sarajevo. The Minister for Veterans' Affairs of Sarajevo Canton, Omer Osmanović, visited the "Lav" cemetery today, where he laid flowers on Vinko Šamarlić's grave, and then paid his respects on Trebević.



“Today's date in Sarajevo's history will also be remembered as the day when the most young people lost their lives at the hands of the aggressor, in an attempt to break the siege of the city. The goal of the operation was to break the tight encirclement of the city, as well as to capture key aggressor positions from which the city was shelled, but our youth bravely defended it then, showing how unbreakable we are. Today we also remember Vinko Šamarlić, a Golden Lily, who exchanged his sports uniform for a military one. We lost him too soon. As much as we can be proud of the generation then, our heroes, we must not let them be forgotten, because if they had not distinguished themselves then, we would not be walking freely. May eternal peace and glory be upon all our heroes, to them belongs immense gratitude for the sacrifice they made. We remember our honorable heroes, while the aggressor remembers convicted war criminals,” stated Minister Osmanović.

The aggressor's plan on this day was to capture the Žuč plateau with the Orlić, Kobilja Glava and Poljine hills, Kromolj and Orlovac, Gazin Han and Obhodža, Vidikovac (Trebević) and Vraca. The brave members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina stood as the defense of this city and defended what many considered indefensible.

On this day, the glorious battle for Žuč also took place, and on this occasion, the monument "Wings of Freedom" will be ceremonially unveiled today. With the victories of June 8, 1992, the units of the Territorial Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RBiH not only liberated a part of the occupied territory of our capital city within the siege ring but also disrupted the aggressor's plans to launch an offensive on Sarajevo and cut it off on that very day.

June 8, 1992, will be remembered in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the bloodiest day during the siege of the city of Sarajevo, given that on this day, around 200 members of the Territorial Defense lost their lives.