Siege of Sarajevo

Available for over a year

Sue MacGregor hears from civilians who became prisoners in their own city from 1992 to 1995 during the longest siege in the history of modern warfare. Sarajevo was a sophisticated city at the heart of Europe – a multi-ethnic symbol of how people could and did live together in peace. No one believed that war would come to Sarajevo. But in April 1992 the culmination of many months of conflict between the two main political parties in Bosnia came to a fatal head. Serbian troops encircled the city from the hills above it and mortaring and sniping began. What followed for the next three and a half years was a bloody urban war of aggression. Inside the city people tried to go on living, tried to believe that someone outside was watching and would come and help. Very quickly the city’s water and electricity supplies were cut. The shops were looted as hunger set in and by the time winter hit the city had been shorn of all its trees in the desperate search for fuel. Among those taking part in this programme, recorded in Sarajevo, are former Bosnian President, Ejup Ganic, BBC Correspondent Alan Little and Faruk Šabanović who was shot by a sniper during the siege. Produced by Sarah Cuddon Series Producer: David Prest The Reunion is a Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4