Sarajevo this morning more beautiful than ever, adorned with flags and bathed in sunshine

Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina today celebrate March 1 – the 23rd anniversary of the state's independence after the majority of its citizens decided in a 1992 referendum to leave the SR Yugoslavia, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

It was a prelude to the attack by the Serbian army on all cities where Bosniaks and Croats predominantly lived. The four-year war, which many analysts deemed entirely unnecessary, was halted in 1995 by the Dayton Peace Agreement, claiming more than 100,000 lives on all three sides, and over 2 million people were forced to leave their homes.

More than two decades later, the country's capital is more beautiful than before. This morning it dawned adorned with flags and bathed in sunshine.