The last major crime of Karadžić's Serbs in besieged Sarajevo

In Mula – Mustafe Bašeskije Street, at number 64 (the northern entrance to the City Market), on 28 August 1995, a crime was committed by the Serbian aggressor that horrified the world, writes the Patria news agency.

At this location, 21 years ago, a shell fired from aggressor positions killed forty-three of our fellow citizens, while 84 were lightly and seriously wounded.

On that fateful day, the following were killed: Omer Ajanović, Hidajet Alić, Salko Alić, Zeno Bašević, Husein Baktašević, Sevda Brkan-Kruščica, Vera Brutus-Đukić, Halida Cepić, Paša Crnčalo, Mejra Cocalić, Razija Čolić, Esad Čoranbegić, Dario Dlouhi, Salko Duraković, Alija Dževlan, Najla Fazlić, Rijad Garbo, Ibrahim Hajvaz, Meho Herceglija, Jasmina Hodžić, Hajrudin Hozo, Jusuf Hašimbegović, Adnan Ibrahimagić, Ilija Karanović, Mesudija Kerović, Vehid Komar, Muhamed Kukić, Mirsad Kovačević, Hašim Kurtović, Ismet Klarić, Masija Lončar, Osman Mahmutović, Senad Muratović, Goran Poturković, Blaženka Smoljan, Hamid Smajlhodžić, Hajro Šatrović, Samir Topuzović, Hamza Tunović, Ajdin Vukotić, Sabaheta Vukotić, Meho Zećo and Narima Žiga.

The second Markale massacre occurred on 28 August 1995 at 11 a.m. Five shells were fired from VRS positions. This attack was the direct trigger for the NATO bombing campaign against Serbian positions, as massacres of civilians in Sarajevo and other besieged cities or enclaves had become common practice for Serbian forces, which ignored frequent warnings from NATO and other international organisations.

The mortar shell was produced at the "Krušik" factory in Valjevo in 1993. Four other shells that exploded near Markale that day bore the same marking.

Followers of the criminal Radovan Karadžić still claim today that the government in Sarajevo, which wanted to secure an international military intervention, was responsible for the massacre.

The massacre at the City Market was the last major crime of Karadžić's Serbs in besieged Sarajevo. It was followed by the NATO operation "Deliberate Force". The Serb military-political leadership was then forced to lift the siege of Sarajevo and withdraw artillery from positions around the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.