29 years ago, 10 fellow citizens were killed at the entrance to the Sarajevo Tunnel of Hope

(Patria) - It has been 29 years since a shell fired from the positions of the Army of Republika Srpska from the direction of Kotorac killed ten and wounded 11 of our fellow citizens at the entrance to the Sarajevo Tunnel of Hope in Butmir.

The Tunnel of Hope, dug under the airport runway between the Sarajevo settlements of Dobrinja and Butmir, was Sarajevo's only connection to the outside world. The shell targeted precisely the people for whom the Tunnel was the only way in and out of Sarajevo. And it, unfortunately, achieved its goal, killing at the time: Aziz Fejzić, Zdravko Klačar, Bećir Kovačević, Fahrudin Kurtović, Mensur Smajić, Semir Smajić, Salih Smaka, Rasema Subašić, Vahid Šalak, and Staka Šarenac.

In memory of the killed and those hardest days for Sarajevo, delegations of the Union of War Victims, Sarajevo Canton, and Ilidža Municipality laid flowers at the memorial plaque at the entrance to the now Tunnel memorial complex. Students of the Eighth Primary School “Amer Ćenanović” Ilidža, and the Fourth Gymnasium Ilidža, along with family members and friends, paid tribute to the killed by reciting Fatiha and observing a minute of silence.

On behalf of Sarajevo Canton, the secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Sarajevo Canton, Azra Ivazović, addressed the attendees with fitting words.

“It is important to always talk about such tragic and painful events that marked Sarajevo's not-so-distant past. It is important to do so for the present, and especially for the future of our city and country. It is important that the generations to come can build their future on truth, on the recognition and punishment of those who committed crimes, with eternal remembrance of the killed, wounded, and suffering citizens of our city and country,” emphasized Azra Ivazović in her fitting address.
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