Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the Markale massacre

On August 28, 1995, a shell fired from Serbian positions at the Markale market in Sarajevo killed 43 and seriously wounded 84 civilians, reports the Patria news agency.

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. 

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

This was the second major massacre at this Sarajevo market. The first Markale massacre occurred on February 5, 1994, between 12:10 and 12:20 p.m. A 120-millimeter mortar projectile fired from positions of the Army of Republika Srpska in the area of the village of Mrkovići fell on the crowded city market. At that time, 68 citizens of Sarajevo were killed and 144 wounded, reports Patria.