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BiH Atlas
Era 16 of 16

The Siege of Sarajevo

The brutal 1,425-day blockade of Bosnia’s capital, the construction of the historic War Tunnel lifeline, and how the city's residents kept it alive.

How this page is worded
This page describes crimes and casualties. Numbers are given with their source (memorial registers, court findings, the Research and Documentation Center) and the wording follows what the ICTY and ICJ found. Where sources differ, both figures appear.

From April 5, 1992, to February 29, 1996, the capital city of Sarajevo was subjected to a brutal military blockade by the VRS, lasting 1,425 days, making it the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare, far exceeding the WWII Siege of Leningrad. The city was surrounded by ringed artillery, tanks, and mortar positions on the surrounding hills, which bombarded the civilian population with an average of 329 shell impacts per day. Water, electricity, food, and medical supplies were systematically cut off.

' In mid-1993, Bosnian defenders hand-dug the Sarajevo War Tunnel (Tunel spasa), an 800-meter underground passage beneath the airport runway that linked the blockaded city with free territory, serving as the absolute lifeline for food, ammunition, and communications. Despite the constant terror, which killed 11,541 people, including 1,601 children, by the official Sarajevo count (the Research and Documentation Center's Bosnian Book of the Dead records 13,952 dead in the siege), the city kept its cultural life going; they organized underground theater performances, art exhibitions, and the 1995 Sarajevo Film Festival, proving that intellectual and artistic resistance could survive the most devastating military blockades.

Dated events

  1. April 5, 1992

    Beginning of the Siege

    Bosnian Serb forces close the roads into the city and cut utilities, leaving an estimated 300,000 to 380,000 people inside.

    Actors: JNA, VRS, citizens of Sarajevo

  2. July 30, 1993

    Completion of Sarajevo War Tunnel

    The Tunel spasa opens beneath the airport runway, establishing an absolute lifeline for survival and defense forces.

    Actors: Civilian diggers, General staff, Nedžad Branković

  3. February 29, 1996

    Official End of the Siege

    The blockade is formally lifted following the implementation of the Dayton Accords, ending 1,425 days of constant shelling.

    Actors: UNPROFOR, ARBiH, local government

Sources and verification

Fact-checked 2026-09-11. Errors found in the draft were corrected and logged.