Atlas of Battles

siege, landmark, Cold War

Siege of Sarajevo

Siege of Sarajevo was a siege conducted in the 1990s at Sarajevo, in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina; it lasted about 6 years. It was part of the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ran from 1992 to 1995.

See it on the globe Read the article

Foughtthe 1990slasted about 6 years
WhereSarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina43.847N, 18.356E
OutcomeMilitary stalemate; Ceasefire; Dayton Agreement signed; JNA withdraws from Sarajevo; city encircled by Bosnian Serb forces; ARBiH unable to lift the siege; UN assumes control of International Airport for Operation Provide Promise; Joint NATO-UN intervention following second Markale market massacre
BelligerentsRepublic of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Supported by:Pakistan; (intelligence support and military equipment); Croatian Republic of Herzeg-BosniaagainstFrance; United Kingdom; Canada; Russia; Norway; Netherlands; Sweden; Denmark; Egypt; Ukraine; Ireland; United States; United Kingdom; France; Germany; Italy; Spain; Portugal; Ukraine; (Non-NATO contributor); Egypt; (Non-NATO contributor); Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; (April–May 1992); Republika Srpska (1992–1995); (May 1992–1996); Supported by: FR Yugoslavia FR Yugoslavia
Part ofWar in Bosnia and Herzegovina1992 to 1995

Record

Datethe 1990s (decade precision)
to 29 February 1996
PlaceSarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
43.847N, 18.356E
KindSiege, Cold War
Territorial changeEastern Sarajevo and Sarajevo divided by RS and FBiH, respectively.; 65% of buildings heavily damaged or destroyed overall.
Strength~73,141 soldiers, militia fighters, local police and irregulars; Limited number of heavy equipment, armoured vehicles (incl. improvised) and tanks; ~2,000 soldiersUNPROFOR; 4,600 total personnel; Rapid Reaction Force (1995); France; 2,000 soldiers; 8 AMX-30 AuF1 self-propelled artillery; United Kingdom; 1,500 soldiers; 12 L118 light gun towed howizers; Netherlands; 500 soldiers; Air campaign (1995); United States; F-16 fighter aircraft; A-10 ground-attack aircraft; MQ-1 Predator drones; France; Mirange 2000N ground-attack aircraft; United Kingdom; Jaguar ground-attack aircraft; Germany; Tornado ground-attack aircraft; Spain; EF-18A Hornet fighter aircraft; IFOR; (1995-1996); ----; Unknown
Casualties and losses6,137 killed; 3,587 wounded; UnknownUNPROFOR; France; 20 killed (11 in accidents); 25 wounded; ~32 held hostage; 1 AMX-10 RC damaged; 1 APC captured; Ireland; 1 killed (in accident); 1 injured (in accident); Canada; 15 wounded; 16 held hostage; 1 AVGP captured; Ukraine; 2 wounded; Sweden; 1 held hostage; Denmark; 1 held hostage; Humanitarian airlift; Italy; 1 Aeritalia G.222 transport aircraft; 4 killed; Air campaign (1995); France; 1 Mirage 2000N aircraft; 2 pilots captured; United States; 1 MQ-1 Predator drone; IFOR; (1995-1996); Portugal; 2 killed; 1 wounded; Italy; 1 killed; 6 wounded; 33-37 killed; 71 wounded; 215 captured; Numerous vehicles damaged or destroyed; 2,241 killed; 5 tanks destroyed; 1 anti-air vehicle destroyed
Commanders
  • Alija Izetbegović
  • Hakija Turajlić
  • Sefer Halilović
  • Rasim Delić
  • Jovan Divjak
  • Dragan Vikić
  • United Nations
  • Bernard Janvier
  • François Mitterrand
  • Lewis MacKenzie
  • NATO
  • Leighton W. Smith
Siege of SarajevoSiege of SarajevoOperation SarajevoSiege of RogaticaBattle of NeretvaCase WhiteCrossing the NeretvaSiege of RogaticaBattle of NeretvaCase WhiteBelgradeBanja LukaSplitČačakMostarTuzlaPecPrijedor100 km43.847N, 18.356E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Sarajevo
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Sarajevo today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-07-27. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 516 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 478 to 918 m, 440 m of relief, steep country and today it is 49% built-up, 37% tree cover, 12% grassland.

built-up: 49%tree cover: 37%grassland: 12%cropland: 2%built-up 49%tree cover 37%grassland 12%cropland 2%
west to east, 10.0 km489 to 766 mnorth to south, 10.0 km508 to 828 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Elsewhere in 1990

Siege of Sarajevo is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 43 in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q175653, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Sarajevo, revision 1385596246, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.