Annex VI - part 3/10
Chronology of the battle and siege of Sarajevo
- April 1992
- May 1992
- June 1992
- July 1992
- August 1992
- September 1992
- October 1992
- November 1992
- December 1992
- January 1993
- February 1993
- March 1993
- April 1993
- May 1993
- June 1993
- July 1993
- August 1993
- September 1993
- October 1993
- November 1993
- December 1993
- January 1994
- February 1994
F. September 1992
1. 1/9/92 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Fighting erupted just after
midnight with small-arms fire and grew at about 5:00 a.m. into
major clashes that varied in intensity throughout the day in the
Dobrinja, Nedzarici and Hrasno areas. Shelling was reported in
several areas, hitting targets in and around the city.
Source(s):
United Press International; Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- Lukavica; Butmir; the Dobrinja apartment complex; a
used tire warehouse in Alipasin Most near the railway station and
the main television tower; the area adjacent to the Marsal Tito
barracks; fuel depot at «Camp Beaver».
Source(s): United Press
International; Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- One mortar round scored a direct hit at
10:00 a.m. on a used tire warehouse used by a rubber factory in
the industrial area of Alipasin Most near the railway station and
television tower, sending thick black clouds smoke over the city;
two French and one Egyptian UNPROFOR officer and one local
firefighter were seriously wounded in a mortar attack late in the
day on a fuel depot at «Camp Beaver».
Source(s): United Press
International; Agence France Presse.
- Sniping Activity :
- A young man walking along a street in the
Alipasin Most area suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his chest.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Dr. Haris Smajkic, the chief of the BiH Health
Crisis Committee said that at least 13 people were killed and 190
others wounded in Sarajevo during the 24 hour period that began
at 1:00 p.m. on Monday. The doctor, who on Monday expressed fears
of looming epidemics, said that 55 new cases of gastroenteritis
were detected since the day before, bringing the total to 665,
while 11 more outbreaks of Hepatitis A were found for a total of
124. *947 At least two people were reported killed and 28 wounded
when a shell exploded in the Dobrinja apartment complex. *948 Two
French and one Egyptian UNPROFOR officer and one local
firefighter were seriously wounded in a mortar attack late in the
day on a fuel depot at «Camp Beaver». *949 Sarajevo Television
said that the toll from the day's fighting was at least eight
dead and a large but undetermined number of injured. *950 A
report the next day counted 15 dead and over 100 wounded. *951
Source(s): United Press International; Agence France Presse;
Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
The fighting in Sarajevo erupted just after midnight Monday
with small arms fire, and grew at about 5:00 a.m. into major
clashes that varied in intensity throughout the day in the
Dobrinja, Nedzarici and Hrasno areas. One report quoted a
«knowledgeable source» as saying that the BiH forces manning
artillery on Igman Mountain, «really hammered» the Serbian
stronghold of Lukavica, a former Yugoslav army base near the
airport. Serbian artillery
responded with shellfire into BiH positions, including Butmir.
It was reported that fierce fighting had been witnessed since the
BiH forces launched an offensive 11 days ago to break the siege
imposed by Serbian forces. The offensive was reportedly aimed at
securing a highway running up the Bosna River Valley from
Sarajevo to Visoko, a town about 10 miles to the north-west,
where large stocks of food and ammunition were reportedly stored.
BiH and Croatian forces loyal to the BiH government had
reportedly been pushing in from Visoko and nearby Zenica in a bid
to link up with those fighting from inside the city. *952
Sarajevo radio said that at least two people (a 55 year-old
man and an 11 year-old girl) were killed and 28 wounded when a
shell exploded as residents ran for shelter in the Dobrinja
apartment complex. *953
One mortar round scored a direct hit at 10:00 a.m., on a
used tire warehouse used by a rubber factory in the industrial
area known as Alipasin Most near the railway station and main
television tower, sending thick clouds of black smoke over the
city. Fire trucks raced to the area but were repulsed by
sustained artillery fire from the surrounding hills, and the fire
burned unabated. *954
Another shell was seen exploding adjacent to the Marsal Tito
barracks which housed the BiH forces and the Ukrainian UNPROFOR
forces. Tracer rounds from multiple rocket launchers were seen
leaving BiH positions within the city perimeter towards the
Serbian positions where the artillery shell was believed to have
originated. *955
A young man walking along a street in the Alipasin Most area
suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his chest. Police pressed a
passing journalist into taking the man to the French hospital,
but he died in the car. *956
A UN spokesman said that two French and one Egyptian officer
of UNPROFOR and one local firefighter were seriously wounded in a
mortar attack late in the day. Two other French soldiers were
reported to have suffered less serious injuries. The attack
occurred on a fuel depot at Camp Beaver, the former Yugoslav army
barracks that served as the headquarters of the 400-member
Egyptian army contingent of UNPROFOR. *957
2. 2/9/92 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The city was reported as relatively
quiet after fierce fighting and artillery duels on the western
fringes as defence forces tried to break the siege. BiH infantry
attacks were reported on Serbian positions in the Jewish Cemetery
and the Grbavica housing complex. Heavy shelling was reported on
the UNPROFOR headquarters at about 1:00 a.m..
Source(s): Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Ilidza, Nedzarici and Kasindol Street; the western
fringes of the city; the area close to the UN headquarters.
Source(s): United Press International; Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Witnesses said that the area around the UN
compound was hit by shells at a rate of one a minute, lasting for
about 40 minutes, forcing personnel to evacuate to the basement.
Source(s): United Press International; Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
The Yugoslav news agency Tanjug reported from Pale that BiH
forces began renewed infantry attacks against Serbian positions
in the Jewish Cemetery in downtown Sarajevo, where the front line
partitioned the city. The Jewish Cemetery neighbourhood and the
nearby Grbavica housing complex in New Sarajevo were reported to
be the targets of attacks on Tuesday night from Vrbanja, Hrasno
and the Viktor Bubanj barracks, Tanjug said. The Serb military
command told Tanjug that all attacks were repulsed without
casualties. The situation calmed down after midnight Tuesday when
also intermittent artillery provocations stopped at Ilidza,
Nedzarici and Kasindol Street, it said. *958
The city was reported as relatively quiet after fierce
fighting and artillery duels occurred in its western fringes as
defence forces tried to break the Serb siege. At about 1:00 a.m.,
numerous shells were reported to have crashed close to the UN
headquarters building, forcing personnel to evacuate to the
basement. «We were down for about an hour or more», UNPROFOR
spokesman Fred Eckhard said. «They seemed to be pretty close and
around the perimeter. It is hard to see what they were aimed at,
unless they wanted to keep us from sleeping». Witnesses said that
the area around the compound was hit by shells at the rate of one
a minute, lasting for about 40 minutes. *959
(b) Local reported events
In Belgrade, Yugoslav Prime Minister Milan Panic, facing a
no-confidence vote in the federal parliament, rejected
accusations from his opponents that he had sold out Serbia at the
London talks. In a question and answer appearance on Belgrade
television, Panic said: «I will never relinquish an inch of
Yugoslav territory». *960
Radovan Karadzic promised to place all large-calibre weapons
in the Sarajevo area under immediate UN supervision. *961 The
declaration applied to all artillery, tanks and mortars with a
calibre of 82 millimetre or larger. The agreement, reached in
London, would allow UN observers to monitor each declared weapon,
counting both the number of shells it fired and the number fired
at it. No intervention was allowed. Observers in the city said
the agreement had two notable weak points: 1) No terms were yet
in place to monitor weapons on the BiH side; and 2) Large caches
of undeclared Serbian weapons were believed to be hidden in the
hills. *962
The Norwegian Foreign Minister Torvald Stoltenberg visited
the city, met with BiH President Izetbegovic and promised $20
million in aid. *963
The Washington Post interviewed a Serb militiaman named
Dragisa in his bunker in the hills above Sarajevo. The bunker on
the edge of the forest about 1,000 yards from Sarajevo had a
clear view of the Sarajevo Holiday
Inn. *964 Dragisa was armed with a .50 calibre machine-gun, and
others in the bunker were armed with automatic rifles. *965 In
the presence of the reporter, one militia man began firing from
the bunker to the beat of a popular tune. *966
3. 3/9/92 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The city had one of its quietest
nights in weeks. Police in the city said that the only overnight
incident had been a brief round of machine-gun fire in the
suburbs in which seven people were wounded. *967 Machine-gun and
small arms fire was reported around the
city. *968
Source(s): Reuters; Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Seven people were wounded in the suburbs in a brief
overnight round of machine-gun fire.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
An Italian relief mission crew comprised of Marco Betti,
Cesare Buttaglieri, Guliano Velardi, and Marco Riglicaco were
killed when their G-222 aircraft, carrying five tons of blankets
to Sarajevo on a UN relief mission, was shot down by up to three
ground to air missiles. *969 «Four rescue helicopters which
scrambled from the US ship Iwo Jima in the Adriatic reached the
crash area and some time after that attracted small arms fire
which caused them to terminate their mission», Peter Kessler,
spokesman for UNHCR in Zagreb told Reuters. The aeroplane was the
first aircraft to crash since an international airlift to
Sarajevo, began in early July. The 1,000th aeroplaneload of
relief supplies landed in the city on Wednesday. *970
UN airlifts were suspended. *971
The city had one of its quietest nights in weeks. Police in
the city said that the only overnight incident had been a brief
round of machine-gun fire in the suburbs in which seven people
were wounded. *972 Machine-gun and small arms fire was reported
around the city. *973
(b) Local reported events
A Bosnian Muslim delegation which was to represent the
Sarajevo government at the Geneva conference left for Geneva. The
delegation included Hajrudin Somun, the republican adviser for
foreign policy issues, and Kasim Trnka, a member of the experts'
group. The delegation had announced that it would advocate the
rejection of any negotiations as long as attacks of towns in BiH
were underway and that there would be «no negotiations with war
criminals». *974
Marrack Goulding, the chief of UN peace-keeping operations,
held a news conference to sharply criticize the attacks on UN
soldiers. «It is an intolerable situation», Goulding said. «But
the alternative is that we withdraw, and that means that the
parties are left to fight it out». «If it goes on for too long,
at too high a level of casualties, the countries that contributed
troops will not be prepared to tolerate casualties above a
certain level», he said. After the news conference, Goulding held
talks with President Izetbegovic. Goulding was also to travel to
a Serbian artillery and logistics stronghold at a former Yugoslav
army base in the western suburb of Lukavica for a meeting with
Serbian leader Radovan Karadzic. Goulding said that he had no
indications that Karadzic had begun implementing the accord
announced Wednesday to immediately begin concentrating heavy
weapons in 11 locations around Sarajevo. Goulding cautioned
against expecting a quick end to the shelling of Sarajevo, saying
that UN military monitors could only observe the use of the
weapons and that he believed Serbian forces had «a lot of stuff
hidden on the hills that we do not know about yet». *975
The BiH government and international aid agencies warned of
the dangers of the coming winter. «If there is no political
settlement, then the winter is going to be a disaster», said
Izumi Nakamitsu, of UNHCR. «You are going to see starvation
deaths and exposure deaths», said Peter Kessler, a UNHCR
spokesman. Sarajevo Mayor Muhamed Kresevljakovic said that he
would recommend that the City Council create an agency to arrange
for tens of thousands of children and elderly people to be
evacuated voluntarily from the capital during the winter months.
*976
(c) International reported events
4. 4/9/92 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Artillery blasts and heavy machine-
gun fire escalated sharply in the south-western sector of the
city around the suburb of Ilidza, where Serbian and BiH
strongholds were in close proximity. Sniper fire and heavy
machine-gun fire increased in intensity throughout, and grey
smoke could be seen from the hills. *978
Source(s): Agence
France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- The south-western side of the city around the suburb
of Ilidza.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire increased in intensity throughout
the day.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Artillery blasts and heavy machine-gun fire escalated
sharply in the south-western sector of the city around the suburb
of Ilidza, where Serbian and BiH strongholds were in close
proximity. Sniper fire and heavy machine-gun fire increased in
intensity throughout, and grey smoke could be seen from the
hills. *979
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
The peace conference co-chairmen attended a UNHCR follow-up
committee meeting. They met with the working group chairmen,
ICRC, UNHCR, UN Under-Secretary-General Goulding and other groups
from 4-6 September. From 4-16 September seven meetings of the
Working Group on Confidence and Security Building Measures were
held. *981
5. 5/9/92 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Not specified
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Fifteen rounds of sniper fire was reportedly
directed towards the UN supply warehouse.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sylvana Foa, Geneva spokeswoman for UNHCR said that 15
rounds of sniper fire had been directed towards the UN supply
warehouse in the city. *982
(b) Local reported events
6. 6/9/92 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Mortar shells destroyed a truck at
a United Nations supply warehouse in the city, and UN officials
said that it appeared the relief effort was being deliberately
targeted.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- The depot area of a United Nations warehouse.
Source(s): Agence France Press; Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Seven mortars hit the depot area of a
United Nations supply warehouse in the city and destroyed a
truck.
Source(s): Agence France Press; Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Mortar shells destroyed a truck at a United Nations supply
warehouse in the city and UN officials said that it appeared the
relief effort was being deliberately targeted. Seven mortars
reportedly hit the depot area. *984 Sylvana Foa, Geneva
spokeswoman for UNHCR said: «Our people in Sarajevo say the
centre appears to be the sole target of the first major shelling
in the city in the last few days». Foa said that relief supplies
in the city had dwindled rapidly after the two month-old airlift
was suspended because of the shooting down of the Italian
aeroplane. *985
(b) Local reported events
People carrying plastic containers and bottles filled the
street looking for water after the water supply line was cut on
early Saturday. Security forces said that there was no indication
that Serb forces had sabotaged the water supplies. UNPROFOR
experts were trying to find the break and repair it. People were
also reportedly putting out bowls, buckets and cups on the
streets to collect rain overnight. *986
Three days after the suspension of relief flights to
Sarajevo, living conditions in the city were reported as getting
steadily worse. The UNHCR reported that food reserves had been
considerably depleted and that the city was without water and
electricity. Of the 789 tons of food stocked in city depots
Friday, only 112 tons remained, according to the UNHCR. *987
7. 7/9/92 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Fighting was reported between BiH
and Serb forces, starting at 5:00 a.m. in the Hrasno and western
Ilidza areas and persisted throughout the day. Areas in and
around the city were also shelled.
Source(s): United Press
International; Government of BiH; Agence France Presse; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- The area close to the UNPROFOR airport compound (one
shell exploded inside the perimeter, about 200 yards from the
rear of the terminal); the textile training school in the Dolac
Malta area; the Klas-Sarko and Velepekara building; the area
around Alipasin Most; an unidentified suburban street.
Source(s):
United Press International; Government of BiH; Agence France
Presse; Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- An artillery shell exploded in a textile
training school in the Dolac Malta area, near the city's main
bakery, igniting a fire that forced police to divert traffic; a
huge cloud of smoke appared over the city, originating from the
Alipasin Most section; one person was killed and five wounded by
a single tank shell that slammed into a suburban street.
Source(s): United Press International; Government of BiH; Agence
France Presse; Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- The Washington Post reported that in the five months
that Sarajevo had been under siege at least 1,954 people, mostly
civilians, had been killed and another 25,000 had been wounded.
*988 The Belgrade-based news agency Tanjug said that two Serb
soldiers were killed in the fighting. *989 Local journalists said
that one person was killed and five wounded by a single tank
shell that slammed into a suburban street. *990 BiH police said
that a total of 13 people were killed in the 24 hours that ended
at mid-day
Monday. *991 Health authorities reported a major increase in
illnesses caused by the consumption of contaminated water, with
the number of cases of gastroenteritis rising from 630 to 1,540
over the past seven days. *992
Source(s): Washington Post;
Reuters; United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Fighting was reported between BiH and Serb forces, starting
at 5:00 a.m. in the southern Hrasno and western Ilidza areas and
persisted throughout the day. *993
Water supplies were restored to the city for three hours but
were then cut off again when Muslim forces attacked Serb
positions in Ilidza, UN officials said. «The water supply was cut
by Serbs in Ilidza following Muslim action from Butmir», an
official for the UNHCR stated. «Some 70 percent of the city is
still without water», he said. *994
UNPROFOR was forced to suspend flights at Sarajevo airport
because of the nearby fighting. Shells reportedly exploded close
to the airport compound, and one exploded inside the perimeter,
about 200 yards from the rear of the terminal. The clashes in
Hrasno were reportedly sparked by an attempted incursion by
Serbian forces, while the fighting in Ilidza marked the
continuation of an ongoing offensive by BiH forces to break a
supply corridor through Serbian lines. *995
An artillery shell exploded in a textile training school in
the Dolac Malta area, near the city's main bakery, igniting a
fire that forced police to divert traffic around the scene. *996
Also shelled were the Klas-Sarko and Velepekara buildings
(the city's only providers of essential foodstuffs such as flour
and bread), according to a report from the Government of BiH.
*997
A huge cloud of smoke rose thousands of feet into the sky
over the western half of the city. It appeared to be coming from
a section called Alipasin Most, an industrial area near the UN
headquarters and about a kilometre north of the airport. *998
(b) Local reported events
In Belgrade, the federal government of the rump Yugoslavia,
strengthened by its defeat of a no-confidence motion from hard-
liners and supporters of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic,
announced a team to go to Geneva which did not include the
Serbian leader's supporters. *999
Local media in Sarajevo quoted the chief of the local Croat
militia as saying that the BiH forces had until Monday to
withdraw from Croatian-held territory. But an official for the
Bosnian Croat army in Mostar, said that this applied only to the
Stup area where relations deteriorated after Muslim forces moved
into the Croat stronghold. *1000
Despite renewed violence, Serbian forces controlling the
city's main reservoir at Bacevo, on the western side of Ilidza,
began restoring water supplies two days after shutting off the
pumping operations. Water reportedly returned to the UNPROFOR
headquarters and the western Dobrinja area. The restart of
pumping operations came a day after a meeting between Serbian and
BiH utility technicians brokered by UNPROFOR. But supplies
appeared to have been restored to only a few areas of the city.
The city's main hospital was reportedly without water. *1001
(c) International reported events
UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali said that he believed the
United Nations could resume relief flights to Sarajevo despite
the crash of the Italian aid aeroplane last week. The Secretary-
General said in Moscow: «I believe we are still able to send
humanitarian assistance through Sarajevo airport, and furthermore
we are using roads so that we can bring humanitarian assistance
to the city». *1002
A communique from the International Conference in Geneva
called on the warring factions in BiH to surrender their heavy
weapons to UN personnel by 12 September. *1003
Experts from Serbia engaged in the group Conference on
Yugoslavia announced that their work in those bodies had been
terminated because the Yugoslav government had named its own
representatives. The experts who had been participating were: Dr.
Kosta Mihajlovic, Dr. Smilja Avramov, Dr. Oskar Kovac, Dr. Ratko
Markovic, Dr. Milenko Kreho, Dr. Vladan Kutlesic, Dr. Dragana
Ignjatovic, and Mira Stavljanin. *1004
8. 8/9/92 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Fierce battles were fought with
mortars and tanks around the airport overnight, but the fighting
died down by dawn. The city was reported quiet by morning, with
some sniper fire. Some shelling was reported in the city later in
the day. At 7:40 p.m., a UN convoy drove into cross fire between
BiH and Serbian forces, resulting in UNPROFOR casualties.
Source(s): Helsinki Watch; Associated Press; Washington Post; New
York Times; UNPROFOR; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Sarajevo airport (overnight); a market opposite the
Sarajevo television station.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- A mortar round struck a market opposite
the Sarajevo television station, killing four people and wounding
about 10.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire was heard across the city during
the morning hours.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Casualties :
- Two French UN soldiers, Sergeant Frederic Vaudet and
Corporal Eric Marot, were killed, and at least three were wounded
by heavy machine-gun fire near the airport that lasted for at
least five minutes. A mortar round struck a market opposite the
Sarajevo television station, killing four people and wounding
about 10. Officials said that by 4:00 p.m., nine people had been
killed and 69 wounded in Sarajevo. *1005
Source(s): Associated
Press; New York Times; Washington Post; UNPROFOR Press Release;
Reuters; Agence France Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
BiH and Serb forces fought fierce battles with mortars and
tanks around Sarajevo's airport overnight but the fighting had
died down by dawn. The city was largely quiet later in the
morning, although sniper fire was heard across the city. *1006
UN Officials reported that at 7:40 p.m., two French UN
soldiers, Sergeant Frederic Vaudet and Corporal Eric Marot, who
were part of a UN convoy near Sarajevo airport, had been killed,
and at least three others were wounded by heavy machine-gun fire
that lasted for at least five minutes. A UN report on the
incident later confirmed that the convoy mistakenly drove into
cross fire between Serbian and BiH forces. *1007 SRNA, the
Bosnian Serb news agency, said Serb forces had intercepted an
order by the BiH command ordering its units to attack the convoy.
The latest deaths brought to four the total number of «blue
helmet» peacekeepers killed in Sarajevo. At least 48 others had
been wounded. *1008
A mortar round struck a market opposite the Sarajevo
television station, killing four people and wounding about 10,
witnesses said. *1009
(b) Local reported events
The United Nations said there would be renewed contacts with
the warring factions aimed at restoring water supplies to the
city. The problem appeared to be power supplies to a pumping
station near the battle lines outside the city. Engineers
reportedly wanted guarantees that they would not be attacked if
they attempted repairs. The UN said that it had drawn up a two
week plan to restore electricity and water supplies gradually,
but that there had not yet been an agreement among the warring
factions. *1010
It was reported that late in the day, officials managed to
restore electricity to about 50% of the city, much of which had
been without power for just over a month. *1011
The five day-old suspension of the UN humanitarian relief
airlift into Sarajevo had exhausted aid stocks, but the city was
in no danger of running out of food, a UN official said. «It is
not a catastrophe. It is a short-term shortfall and I believe
that the people of Sarajevo have set aside a little stock in case
something like this happens», said Dag Espeland, the UNHCR
Logistics Chief in Sarajevo. Espeland said that UNHCR planned an
expansion in truck convoys before the end of the week that could
make up all but 20 tons of the 200 tons of food and medicines
that had been provided each day by the international airlift.
Espeland and local relief officials said that food supplies were
not endangered by the UN airlift suspension, with the head of one
state-run soup kitchen saying he had at least 10 days of reserves
in stock. «We are not in a panic at all», said Hamid Pliska, the
manager of the kitchen feeding 1,100 adults and children a day in
the Bistrik neighbourhood of the old city. *1012
Special emergency flights, which were supposed to fly in
bottled oxygen badly needed in Sarajevo hospitals, were canceled.
*1013
9. 9/9/92 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Overnight shelling was reported in
the suburbs near the old part of the city. Street fighting was
reported in Stup.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- The Breka and Bjelave suburbs (overnight); the Dolac
Malta district.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo radio reported overnight shelling in the Breka and
Bjelave suburbs near the old part of the city. Serb and Muslim
forces fought with artillery in the Dolac Malta district. Street
fighting was reported in Stup, a Croat-controlled suburb to the
west of the city. *1014
(b) Local reported events
The Egyptian general in charge of the UN peace mission in
Sarajevo, Brigadeer General Hussein Abdel Razek, blamed BiH
government militiamen for Tuesday's killing of two French
soldiers. The government forces reportedly violated a cease-fire
and opened fire in good light at short range on the convoy. *1015
Another UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
point of attack and the direction from which the fire came left
no doubt that it came from BiH-controlled territory adjacent to
the airport runway. «The fire came from the left», he said.
«Impossible that it could have come from the Serbs». The UN
source described the attackers as «Bosnian gangs . . . local
warlords not under the control of anybody». «It is my personal
hypothesis that there was a political motivation», said the
source. «The Bosnians were trying to prove that humanitarian aid
to Sarajevo is not possible, and that the only answer to the
conflict is a western military intervention against the Serbs».
*1016
(c) International reported events
10. 10/9/92 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- There were clashes reported
overnight in the early morning and around the city. Up to 200
shells reportedly fell on the Dobrinja district. Fierce fighting
was reported in the city and Serb gunners sporadically shelled
the city. Vance and Owen's arrival in the city coincided with
fierce fighting in several areas of the city, with military
sources reporting a major advance by BiH forces into the Serb-
held stronghold of Nedzarici. The BiH government said that its
troops attacked Serbian forces when they tried to move heavy
weapons from a hill overlooking the downtown to avoid detection
by UN monitors.
Source(s): Reuters; United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- An apartment block in Dobrinja; the roof of the
Sarajevo television station.
Source(s): Reuters; United Press
International.
- Description of Damage :
- Shelling reportedly left an apartment
block ablaze and two killed and 16 wounded in Dobrinja. Up to 200
tank shells reportedly fell on the district.
Source(s): Reuters;
United Press International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Two people were killed and 16 wounded in shelling
attacks on Dobrinja.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
There were clashes reported overnight and in the early
morning around the city. Sarajevo radio said that fierce shelling
left an apartment block ablaze in Dobrinja. Local journalists
said that two people were killed and 16 wounded in the attacks on
Dobrinja. Residents said that up to 200 tank shells fell on the
district. *1020
Vance and Owen's arrival in Sarajevo coincided with fierce
fighting in several areas of the city, with military sources
reporting a major advance by BiH forces into the Serb-held
stronghold of Nedzarici. The sources said that the advance was
marked by the raising of the Republic flag on a building in the
suburb, a strategic point from which Serb fighters had been
thwarting BiH attempts to break through their siege. *1021
Serbian gunners persisted in sporadic shelling of the city
and fired mortar rounds into the roof of the Sarajevo television
building. *1022
The BiH government said its troops attacked Serbian forces
when they tried to move heavy weapons from a hill overlooking the
downtown to the stronghold of Pale to avoid detection by UN
military monitors. *1023
(b) Local reported events
Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen travelled to Sarajevo in an
armoured convoy from Split earlier in the day. They arrived at
the Presidency Building in downtown Sarajevo at 3:00 p.m.. Heavy
shelling and machine-gun fire could be heard in the western
sectors of the city as Vance and Owen arrived. *1024 After
meeting with President Izetbegovic, they travelled by UN armoured
car convoy to the Serb-held suburb of Lukavica for talks with
Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. *1025
The leaders of the warring factions agreed to attend
«continuous» talks next week in Geneva on ending the conflict in
the former Yugoslavia, the two international mediators said.
Serbian leader Radovan Karadzic also agreed to consider a plan to
place Sarajevo's water and electricity supplies under UN
protection, the mediators said. UN envoy Cyrus Vance and European
Community mediator David Owen, the co-chairmen of the Geneva
peace conference, made the announcements at the end of a four-
hour visit to the city. Vance said that «the most important»
achievement of the visit was Izetbegovic's agreement to lead a
BiH delegation to peace talks with Karadzic and Croatian
Democratic Union chief Mate Boban. The talks were set to open in
Geneva on 18
September. *1026
(c) International reported events
11. 11/9/92 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Shelling was reported in the early
morning near the city centre, accompanied by sniper fire. Attacks
were also reported in the Breka area, as well as fighting in the
Old Town. Shellfire and small arms exchanges were reported from
several fringe areas of the city, including the western suburbs
of Nedzarici and Ilidza.
Source(s): United Press International;
Reuters; Washington Post.
- Targets Hit :
- Hotel Bristol (early morning); an unidentified candy
factory.
Source(s): United Press International; Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- In the early morning, several artillery
rounds hit the already devastated Hotel Bristol near the city
centre, setting it ablaze; shelling set a candy factory ablaze.
Source(s): United Press International; Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Alleged Serbian snipers entrenched on southern
hillsides, including in the Jewish cemetery opposite the downtown
area, fired repeated shots at pedestrians and cars. Snipers shot
at civilians attending a cocktail party at the Sarajevo Holiday
Inn to commemorate a Jewish anniversary. The snipers fired from
the city's old Jewish cemetery where large gravestones had been
uprooted to be used as cover.
Source(s): United Press
International; Reuters; Washington Post.
- Casualties :
- Two people were killed in Serb attacks in the Breka
district and four were wounded in fighting in the Hrid Old Town
part of the city. *1029 It was reported by the BiH Health
Ministry that during the 24 hour period ending at 1:00 p.m., 12
people were killed and 58 others injured in Sarajevo. *1030
Source(s): United Press International; Reuters; Washington Post.
- Narrative of Events :
-
In the early morning, several artillery rounds hit the
already devastated Hotel Bristol near the city centre, setting it
ablaze. Shelling also set a candy factory ablaze. Serbian snipers
entrenched on southern hillsides, including in the Jewish
cemetery opposite the downtown area, fired repeated shots at
pedestrians and cars. *1031
Snipers shot at civilians attending a cocktail party at the
Sarajevo Holiday Inn to commemorate a Jewish anniversary. The
snipers fired from the city's old Jewish cemetery where large
gravestones had been uprooted to be used as cover. *1032
Shellfire and small arms exchanges were heard from several
fringe areas of the city, including the western suburbs of
Nedzarici and Ilidza which had witnessed fierce fighting over the
past several days. Mustafa Hajrulahovic, the commander of the BiH
forces, was quoted in a newspaper interview as saying that in
some locations, his units were within 700 yards of punching
through Serbian lines. «On all parts of Sarajevo's battle lines,
we are on offensive actions», the former Yugoslav army officer
told the daily Oslobodjenje newspaper. *1033
(b) Local reported events
Water supplies were restored to about 50% of the city.
Colonel Viktor Bezrouchenko, the Ukrainian army UNPROFOR Chief of
Staff, said that a UN- accompanied team of local technicians went
out in the morning to the reservoir at Bacevo, about five miles
from the city centre to do the repairs. *1034
(c) International reported events
12. 12/9/92 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The city passed one of its quietest
nights (overnight) for months with only sporadic mortar and
gunfire overnight, local radio said. At night, the city suffered
heavy shelling, mortar and heavy machine-gun fire.
Source(s):
Reuters; Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- The area directly in front of the Holiday Inn.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Several fires were reported in the south-
western sectors of the city.
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Sarajevo radio reported that in a 24 hour period
between Friday night and Saturday, two people were killed and six
were injured in
Sarajevo. *1036 Medical officials reported the first case of
abdominal typhus in Sarajevo, an apparent result of people being
crowded together in unsanitary conditions. *1037
Source(s):
Agence France Presse; Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
The city passed one of its quietest nights for months with
only sporadic mortar and gunfire overnight, local radio said.
Close-range fighting was reported in the Pero Kosoric district.
But there was no word of any clashes in the southern and western
suburbs. Mortar fire hit across the city for a half an hour after
dawn but journalists said it was impossible to tell which side
was firing because of the mist. *1038
Mortar, sniper and automatic weapons fire continued in
Sarajevo as night fell but it was relatively light and random.
*1039
At night, the city suffered heavy shelling, mortar and heavy
machine-gun fire. One shell exploded directly in front of the
Holiday Inn. Flashes of artillery fire could be seen from
surrounding hills and several fires were visible in the south-
western sectors of the city. *1040
(b) Local reported events
Serbian forces surrounding Sarajevo began placing heavy
weapons under UN observation. Cedric Thornberry, a senior
official in the UN Protection Force, said Serb forces had
concentrated artillery batteries and other heavy weapons in 11
locations and that three to six monitors had been placed in each
location. *1041 The BiH forces had assembled some of their
artillery for monitoring as well. «We are inspecting those in the
same way we are the Serb side», Thornberry said. *1042
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic stated that he hoped
the monitoring of heavy weapons would lead to a permanent cease-
fire. «We are willing to stop the fighting now and stay where we
are and wait for a political solution, which should be reached
very soon in Geneva», he said. He confirmed that he would himself
lead the Bosnian Serb delegation to the Geneva peace talks on
Friday. Karadzic also said that even if his forces were provoked
they would not fire back. «If it is just a few shells we shall
not respond, only if we come under heavy attack from the
Muslims». *1043
13. 13/9/92 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The UN monitoring of heavy weapons
appeared to have an effect, with the city reportedly enjoying its
second consecutive quiet night. It remained to be seen, however,
whether this was due to restraint by Serb gunners or to the
autumn mist concealing the city from the hills.
Source(s): United
Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Downtown Sarajevo; Dobrinja housing complex; Mojmilo
hill; Alipasino Polje.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- Three were wounded by mortar fire in
Alipasino Polje.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Three children were wounded by mortar fire in
Alipasino Polje. The BiH Public Health Ministry reported that to
date, 2,123 people had been killed, 12,789 had been heavily
wounded, 15,050 had been lightly wounded and 6,654 were reported
missing in Sarajevo. *1044
Source(s): BiH Ministry of Public
Health.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo radio said that Serbian forces hit downtown
Sarajevo with mortar and tank fire. *1045 It reported that Serbs
had attacked the centre of Sarajevo from their hilltop positions
including Trebevic hill, firing from tanks, mortars and using
anti-aircraft guns. There were also reported infantry clashes on
the outskirts of the city, in Zlatiste and the Jewish cemetery.
The radio accused Serbian forces of firing from Serb-held
Lukavica military base on the Dobrinja housing complex and from
Nedzarici suburb on Mojmilo
hill. *1046
The UN monitoring of heavy weapons appeared to have an
effect, with the city reportedly enjoying its second consecutive
quiet night. It remained to be seen, however, whether this was
due to restraint by Serb gunners or to the autumn mist concealing
the city from the hills. Dobrinja was again under fire, but
mainly by mortars, which were not included in the monitoring
agreement. *1047
Three children were wounded by mortar bombs in the Alipasino
Polje suburb before midnight and there was light fire in the old
city during the night. *1048
(b) Local reported events
The Presidency of BiH sent a message to the peace talk co-
chairmen, saying that aggression against BiH had continued,
despite the deadline established by the London Conference, and
that under such circumstances negotiations in Geneva or any other
location would be of no use because the Presidency was not
prepared to take part in them. *1049
Late in the day, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic
threatened to pull out of the coming peace talks in Geneva if the
West imposed a «no-fly zone» over all of BiH. «To impose a
blanket on flights across the whole territory is a direct
involvement in the strategic balance in Bosnian and Hercegovina
and is not justified by the pretext of securing the delivery of
humanitarian aid», Karadzic said. European Community foreign
ministers meeting in Britain confirmed that they intended to
press the United Nations to mandate a no-fly zone. *1050
UNPROFOR commander General Hussein Abdel Razek told a news
conference that because of persisting fighting around Sarajevo
airport, he did not believe the UN-supervised airlift of food and
medicines should be restarted despite a 10 day old suspension. «I
wish it could be resumed because we need it», he said. «But,
frankly up until now, the situation is not safe enough to
recommend that the airlift be resumed». Larry Hollingsworth, the
UNHCR representative in Sarajevo said that it was imperative that
the operation be restarted. The agency's main warehouse was
empty, and an 18 truck convoy (among the largest yet mounted),
arrived from Split with only about 150 tons of aid supplies, he
said. «We still need it [the airlift]. We need a minimum of 180
tons per day and we're not bringing it in», Hollingsworth said.
*1051
UNPROFOR commander General Hussein Abdel Razek updated the
results of the Saturday deadline for Serbian forces to put their
heavy weaponry under UN supervision in Sarajevo and three other
towns by noon Saturday. He said the supervision had started in
Sarajevo, but that Serbian forces had failed to meet the deadline
in Gorazde, Bihac and Jajce. He said that in Sarajevo, UN
observer teams had been deployed to monitor the Serbians' heavy
weaponry in 10 of 11 locations, with the final position to be
manned by the end of the day. He said that because UNPROFOR had
only 40 trained military observers, he was having to use ordinary
infantry soldiers to watch the weaponry. He also reiterated that
he had insufficient means to confirm assurances he received
Saturday from Serbian leader Radovan Karadzic that all Serbian
heavy armaments had been collected in the 11 «concentration
areas». Razek conceded that Serbian gunners under UN observation
had still fired their weapons on civilian areas of Sarajevo.
*1052
French Lieutenant Colonel Armil Davout, deputy UNPROFOR
commander, said that Serbian shellfire late Saturday was in
response to an ongoing BiH attack against the Serb-held western
suburb of Lukavica, on the western boundary of the airport. «The
Serbs have no infantry to make a counter-attack. The only means
for them is to shell. They shell into the town. That is
unacceptable. They also shell the [Bosnian] soldiers», he said.
Davout said that the BiH attack on Lukavica was still continuing.
*1053
14. 14/9/92 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The BiH Presidency announced that
it would not go to next Friday's peace talks in Geneva because
Serb forces had not lived up to their side of agreements made
last week. The announcement, reported on Sarajevo radio, was met
by a sharp upsurge of mid-morning firing which shattered a two-
day lull in the city.
Source(s): Reuters; Agence France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- The Old Town; the City centre; the area near the
Holiday Inn; the area near the UN headquarters; the «French»
Hospital; the school yard at the Children's Embassy; the Hrasno
district; the Dolac Malta apartment block neighbourhood on the
northern side of the Miljacka river; the Marijin Dvor
neighbourhood, including the Parliament building, government
headquarters and two fire-gutted office towers.
Source(s):
Reuters; Agence France Presse; United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- Daylong salvoes of tank, cannon, mortar
and rocket fire was reported, some of which set blazes less than
200 metres from the UN headquarters. At least 20 people were
reported killed and wounded in the first two hours of the
attacks which began at 10:00 a.m.; a BiH military source said
Serbs hit the Hrasno neighbourhood with more than 60 shells.
Source(s): Reuters; Agence France Presse; United Press
International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- It was reported that the day's fighting resulted in
at least 39 dead and more than 100 wounded. *1054 The BiH Public
Health Ministry reported that 13 people were killed and 82
injured in Sarajevo on this day. *1055
Source(s): Agence France
Presse; BiH Ministry of Public Health.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Thousands of residents strolling to work and outside their
homes enjoying the sunshine were caught by intense, daylong
salvoes of tank, cannon, mortar and rocket fire, some of which
set blazes in homes less than 200 metres from the UN
headquarters. The attacks began at around 10:00 a.m.. At least
20 people were reported killed and 60 wounded in two hours.
Mortar bombs were reported to have hit the old city, the city
centre, and near the Holiday
Inn. *1056 Dr. Edo Jaganjac of the French Hospital said that the
facility was hit by anti-aircraft fire. *1057 A worker at the
Children's Embassy, a refuge for displaced children in the city
centre, said that a mortar bomb had landed in the school yard in
front of it. *1058
The shelling coincided with daylong clashes around the city
and in its suburbs between Serb and BiH soldiers. The suburbs of
Hrasno, Breka and Bjelava were also under fire, as was the
Dobrinja area south-west of the city near the airport. *1059 An
apartment complex at Pero Kosoric Square in Hrasno was set on
fire. *1060
A BiH military source said that Serbs had launched a tank-
backed ground assault from their stronghold in the Grbavica
section across the front into the BiH-held Hrasno neighbourhood
after hitting it with more than 60
shells. *1061 A BiH military statement accused Serbian forces of
launching an infantry attack on Hrasno. The statement said that
Serbian tanks and anti-aircraft weapons based on Oreska Street
blasted shellfire into BiH lines in Hrasno. One reporter observed
the tank fire on Hrasno and into the Dolac Malta apartment block
neighbourhood on the northern side of the Miljacka
river. *1062
The BiH statement said that Serb forces entrenched in the
Jewish cemetery in the old city fired into the Marijin Dvor
neighbourhood, hitting the Parliament building, government
headquarters and two fire-gutted office towers. *1063 BiH
military sources also said that Serb attackers were firing with
heavy 82 millimetre mortars, automatic weapons and anti-aircraft
cannon on many parts of the city. *1064
Commenting on the above attacks, French Colonel Armiel
Davout, deputy UNPROFOR commander in the Sarajevo sector told a
news conference that «I am obliged to say that all of the
(Serbian) weapons are not concentrated». Davout said that UN
military monitors reported firing into Sarajevo from Serbian
heavy weapons that were deployed outside the so-called UN
observed «concentration areas» and inside seven of the 11 zones.
*1065
At Tilava, a mountainous area south of Sarajevo, at least a
dozen 122 millimetre Serbian artillery guns were employed in the
field. The Serbian Commander, Captain Savo Simic, was observed
by three United Nations officials but fired one volley in what he
said was a response to an attack by BiH Government forces in the
suburb of Ilidza. *1066
The five-member BiH Presidency said that the western
Sarajevo community of Doglodi, predominantly Croatian, had been
overrun by Serbian tanks and that a large but unspecified number
of persons had been killed and injured in what it termed a
«massacre». *1067
(b) Local reported events
The BiH Presidency announced that it would not go to next
Friday's peace talks in Geneva because Serb forces had not lived
up to their side of agreements made last week. The announcement,
reported on Sarajevo radio, was met by a sharp upsurge of mid-
morning firing which shattered a two-day lull in the city. The
radio report said: «The Presidency of Bosnia-Hercegovina
announces it will not go to Geneva because Karadzic did not live
up to conditions». *1068
(c) International reported events
In Geneva, a UN spokesman said Cyrus Vance, co-chairman of
the Yugoslav peace talks, was shocked over the withdrawal of the
BiH government from the negotiations and said that the meeting
would go ahead. *1069
Late in the day, the United Nations Security Council adopted
Security Council Resolution 776, authorizing an expanded peace-
keeping force in BiH to protect convoys of food and medicine for
civilians. The vote was 12 to zero with China, India and Zimbabwe
sustaining on the resolution allowing the UN to increase the
1,500 troops in Sarajevo to as many as 7,500 deployed (with
approximately 6,000 troops from NATO countries) throughout BiH.
*1070 China reportedly opposed an additional US-sponsored clause
to allow UNPROFOR to use force. *1071
15. 15/9/92 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The city was reported as relatively
calm in the early hours. Serb forces reportedly shelled Stup and
attacked government positions near the airport. A column of Serb
tanks reportedly razed houses in Azici.
Source(s): Agence France
Presse; Washington Post.
- Targets Hit :
- Stup area; government positions around the airport;
civilian targets in downtown Sarajevo.
Source(s): Washington
Post.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- In 24 hours it was reported that nearly 30 Sarajevo
residents had been killed and 170 wounded by Serb tank and
artillery fire. *1072 The BiH Public Health Ministry reported
that 28 people were killed and 170 were injured in Sarajevo on
this day. *1073
Source(s): Washington Post; BiH Ministry of
Public Health.
- Narrative of Events :
-
The city was reported as relatively calm in the early hours.
*1074
Sarajevo radio said that Serb forces shelled the previously
peaceful Croat dominated Stup suburb in apparent retaliation for
attempts by Muslim gunmen to disarm local Serbs.
Using tank units that had been hidden from UN weapons
monitors, Serb militia forces reportedly attacked BiH government
positions near Sarajevo airport. A column of 10 Serb tanks razed
houses in the government-held western suburb of Azici, while
another 10 tanks in the Serb-controlled district south-west of
the city pounded government positions around the airport as well
as civilian targets in downtown Sarajevo. *1075
(b) Local reported events
There were varying accounts of what had transpired in
Sarajevo on Monday. Some sources said the BiH forces started the
exchange by firing several shells at Serbian positions in the
hills from howitzers hidden in basement ramps of the Olympic
Stadium, only a few hundred metres from the city's northern
front. Another theory was that the shelling, accompanied by a
tank-backed Serbian assault across a key front on the city's
southern flank, was part of a greater design to cut the city in
two and weaken BiH control. Sources in the city said that the
suddenness of the shelling, accompanied by almost simultaneous
air strikes to the north by aeroplanes from a Yugoslav Federal
Air Force base in Banja Luka, pointed to a coordinated
offensive. *1076
(c) International reported events
16. 16/9/92 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Serb tanks were reportedly again in
action against Stup while mortar fire also hit the Old Town and
the Ciglana district. Muslim-held suburbs were reportedly hit by
sporadic mortar fire at night. Muslim civilians were reportedly
driven from their homes near Mt. Romanija.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Muslim suburbs (overnight); the Old Town and the
Ciglana district; Stup.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- The BiH Public Health Ministry reported that 16
people were killed and 63 were injured in Sarajevo on this day.
*1078
Source(s): BiH Ministry of Public Health.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo radio said that the Muslim suburbs were hit by
sporadic mortar fire during the night. *1079
Sarajevo radio said that mortar fire hit the Old Town and
the Ciglana district, and Serb tanks had again been in action
against the western suburb of Stup. *1080
(c) Local reported events
The Assembly of the Serb Republic at a session in Bijeljina
adopted a statement urging the authorities in Sarajevo to declare
a cease-fire before the opening of the Geneva Conference on 18
September. The statement, carried by SRNA, a Bosnian Serb news
agency, said that Serb forces would also be ordered to cease fire
before the opening of the conference. *1081
BiH reports said that Muslims were being driven from their
homes around Mount Romanija near Sarajevo in fresh «ethnic
cleansing» by Serbs. *1082
A UNHCR official said that food for the city's population
had dwindled to a three day's supply, consisting mainly of rice
and flour. There was a serious shortage of protein in the form of
canned meat, fish, powdered eggs and milk, he added. *1083
A water department official said that a mortar bomb on
Monday fractured the main water pipe supplying the city. «There's
no water at all», a worker at the Old Town hospital said. «We're
walking around with buckets trying to find some». *1084
About 120 Jews, mainly women and children, left the city at
dawn en route to Split, a spokesman for the Jewish community
said. The spokesman said that everyone who was unlikely to
survive the upcoming winter and the worsening conditions in
Sarajevo were being evacuated. *1085
A UNHCR issued report stated that the Italian relief
aeroplane that crashed in BiH was downed by a missile, but did
not say who fired the
missile. *1086
(c) International reported events
17. 17/9/92 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Shelling and street fighting in the
city lasted until midnight in what Sarajevo radio called
Sarajevo's «worst day of hell». Artillery pounded the central
Stari Grad and Centar districts, the Novo Sarajevo area, Novi
Grad, Dobrinja and Vogosca to the north. *1088 More than 400
shells were fired by 4:00 p.m..
Source(s): Reuters; Reuters
(18/9/92 report).
- Targets Hit :
- Apartment buildings and the television station in
Alipasino Polje; UNPROFOR headquarters in Alipasino Polje (the
Engineering building of the BiH Telecommunications Department);
the Old Town; Hrasno; Mojmilo; the Alipasino Polje area; the Stup
area; Dogladi; the Central Stari Grad and Centar Districts; the
Novo Sarajevo area; Novi Grad; Dobrinja; and Vogosca.
Source(s):
United Press International; Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- The UNPROFOR mission narrowly escaped
casualties when two shells fired by unknown sources hit its
headquarters in Alipasino Polje. A 30 millimetre anti-aircraft
round exploded at about 11:00 a.m. in an empty room on the third
floor of the Engineering building of the BiH Telecommunications
Department. A 122 millimetre artillery round then crashed through
the front of the largely glass building, exited through a fourth-
floor rear window, and bounced down a fire escape and rolled into
a parking lot without exploding.
Source(s): United Press
International; Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- The BiH Health Ministry reported that during the 24
hour period beginning at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, at least nine
people were killed and 60 others injured in Sarajevo. *1089
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Fierce fighting was reported in Sarajevo on the eve of new
peace talks and Serbian gunners reportedly shelled the city with
heavy weapons hidden from UN scrutiny, UN officials and news
reports said. *1090 According to reports, an artillery duel raged
in downtown Sarajevo as the BiH delegation left for renewed peace
talks in Geneva. The delegation, headed by BiH Foreign Minister
Haris Silajdzic, went overland to Split to catch a flight to
Geneva. Their departure was delayed by pre-dawn shelling. *1091
Infantry clashes and shelling commenced at about 6 a.m. in
several neighbourhoods less than a mile from the downtown and in
western suburbs that had been the focal point of an attempted
advance by tank-backed Serbian forces. Grey clouds of dust and
smoke from burning buildings could be seen over the Hrasno,
Alipasino Polje and Nedzarici areas amid shellfire. It was
reported that Serb shells scored direct hits on apartment
buildings and the television station in Alipasino Polje. *1092
The UNPROFOR Mission narrowly escaped casualties when two
shells fired by unknown sources hit its headquarters in the
western suburb of Alipasino Polje. A 30 millimetre anti-aircraft
round exploded at about 11:00 a.m. in an empty room on the third
floor of the Engineering building of the BiH Telecommunications
Department, said New Zealand Colonel Richard Grey. A 122
millimetre artillery round then crashed through the front of the
largely glass building, exited a fourth-floor rear window,
bounced down a fire escape and rolled into a parking lot without
exploding, said Grey. «There was a good chance there could have
been some casualties had it exploded», said Grey, who noted that
it was the fifth time a large calibre round had hit the building
without detonating. *1093
Sarajevo radio said that Serbian multiple-launch rockets and
mortar rounds burst on the fringes of the old city, as well as in
Hrasno, Mojmilo and Alipasino Polje. *1094
UN sources also said that Serbian tanks hidden from UN
monitoring, fired rounds at targets in Sarajevo's western,
predominantly Croatian suburbs of Stup and Dogladi to support a
Serbian armour-backed thrust. It was reported that the advance,
which began Monday under the diversionary cover of a nine-hour-
long bombardment of Sarajevo, appeared designed to reclaim land
recently lost to BiH forces who were intent to break the Serbian
siege of the
city. *1095
It was also reported that BiH defenders launched fresh
attacks to try to break out toward Ilidza to the south-west.
*1096
Shelling and street fighting in the city lasted until
midnight in what Sarajevo radio called Sarajevo's «worst day of
hell». Artillery pounded the central Stari Grad and Centar
districts, the Novo Sarajevo area, Novi Grad, Dobrinja and
Vogosca to the north. *1097
(b) Local reported events
In a statement released early in the day, BiH President
Alija Izetbegovic reversed the Presidency's decision on Monday to
pull out of the Geneva talks. He said the decision had been
«carefully reconsidered» and that it had been decided it would be
«more useful» to go. He warned, however, that although the
delegation would be present in Geneva, it would not participate
in the talks unless the Serbian side honoured commitments it made
at the London conference on Yugoslavia last week. *1098
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic announced that the
composition of the Serb delegation to the Geneva Conference would
be top level, including: himself, Presidency member Dr. Nikola
Koljevic, Assembly Chairman Momcilo Krajisnik, and Foreign
Minister Dr. Aleksa Buha. *1099
18. 18/9/92 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Serbian forces launched a new
thrust against BiH lines on the northern fringe of Sarajevo less
than an hour before the opening of the new round of peace talks
in Geneva. The Serbian attack out of the Vogosca area coincided
with Serbian shellfire into the city and a fifth day of fierce
battles on the city's western edge, which had been shrouded by
black smoke from a huge fire.
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Targets Hit :
- The Vogosca area; the Kobilja Glava residential
neighbourhood bordering Vogosca; the Bistrik area of the old
city; the Cengic Vila residential area (shells struck a plastic
newspaper kiosk and a warehouse); the northern district of Buca
Potok; the Alipasino Polje district.
Source(s): United Press
International; Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Residents of Kobilja Glava and the Bistrik
district of the old city said that many people had taken to their
basements and one man (Jamel Becirevic, a businessman living in
Bistrik), said that several people had been injured from shells
originating from Trebevic; in the Cengic Vila residential area,
shelling set a plastic kiosk aflame and an artillery round hit a
warehouse.
Source(s): United Press International; Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- It was reported that at least three people were
killed and 10 wounded in artillery attacks in the northern
district of Buca Potok while six people were wounded in a
bombardment of the Alipasino Polje district late in the day. The
BiH Public Health Ministry reported that 25 people were killed
and 185 were wounded in Sarajevo on this date. *1100
Source(s):
Reuters; BiH Ministry of Public Health.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Serbian forces launched a new thrust against BiH lines on
the northern fringe of Sarajevo less than an hour before the
opening of the new round of peace talks in Geneva. The Serbian
attack out of the Vogosca area coincided with Serbian shellfire
into the city and a fifth day of fierce battles on the city's
western edge, which had been shrouded by black smoke from a huge
fire. Sarajevo radio said that Serbian forces opened the attack
at Vogosca at about 9:20 a.m., only 40 minutes before the
scheduled start of the Geneva peace conference. The attack was
confirmed by UNPROFOR sources who added that the Serbs continued
to use heavy weapons retained outside 11 UN monitored sites. The
Serbian forces holding most of Vogosca reportedly launched their
latest attack under the cover of heavy fire from tanks, howitzers
and mortars, Sarajevo radio said. It said the thrust was directed
against fringe areas of the northern suburb captured in recent
weeks by BiH troops fighting to break the Serbian siege. In
confirming the attack, UN sources said Serbian gunners also
unleashed artillery rounds into Kobilja Glava, a residential
neighbourhood bordering Vogosca and the Muslim-dominated old
city. Residents of Kobilja Glava and the Bistrik district of the
old city contacted by telephone said that many people had taken
to their basements. «We are under fire», said Jamel Becirevic, a
businessman living in Bistrik. «Several people have been
injured». He said that much of the shelling came from Serbian
guns deployed at Trebevic, a hilltop where the bobsled run built
for the 1984 Olympics is located. Serbian anti-aircraft shells
were reported to have blasted into the Cengic Vila residential
area, setting a plastic newspaper kiosk aflame, and an artillery
round slammed into a warehouse. *1101
Fighting, meanwhile, persisted for a fifth day across the
city's western suburbs of Ilidza, Stup, Otes, and Dogladi. The UN
said that both sides exchanged artillery fire but that more than
50% of the shelling since 7:00 a.m. was from Serbian heavy
weapons hidden from UN monitoring. *1102
It was reported that at least three people were killed and
10 wounded in artillery attacks in the northern district of Buca
Potok, while six people were wounded in a bombardment of the
Alipasino Polje district late in the
day. *1103
(b) International reported events
Leaders of the warring Yugoslav factions refused to sit at
the same tables as officials began a new round of internationally
mediated peace talks that were overshadowed by resumed shelling
in Sarajevo. Speaking in advance of the fresh round of peace
negotiations, UN envoy Cyrus Vance expressed little optimism that
the bargaining could rapidly end the fighting. Other UN officials
also cautioned against too much optimism. «Given the fact they
won't even talk directly to each other, there doesn't seem a lot
of hope», a senior UN negotiator who requested anonymity said
before the meetings opened. «It looks like the Afghan talks all
over again». *1104 BiH Foreign Minister Haris Silajdzic told
reporters that Karadzic and his team were «war
criminals». *1105
Radovan Karadzic said at a press conference after his first
meeting with the co-chairmen that «the Muslims have the
unrealistic objective of having all of Bosnia-Hercegovina to
themselves», and proposed instead that BiH be partitioned into a
«confederation» of three states, one for Serbs, one for Croats,
and one for Muslims. *1106
The United States accused Serbs of escalating their
«unjustified» shelling of the city and stated that an effort to
impose United Nations control of heavy weapons had failed. But
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that there was no
reason to abandon the UN move. Of the more than 400 mortar and
artillery shells fired by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, most were
Serbian. BiH mortars fired back but were heavily outgunned.
Noting that Sarajevo had suffered heavy shelling on Thursday and
Friday, Boucher said that shelling was taking place both from
sites where heavy weapons had been assembled under UN monitors
and from undeclared sites. «It's clear to us that the Serbs have
not concentrated all their heavy weapons despite their commitment
to do so and they in fact have increased their indiscriminate,
unjustified shelling of Sarajevo», he told reporters. *1107
19. 19/9/92 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Fighting reportedly eased around
Sarajevo with clashes and shellfire flaring intermittently
throughout the day, mainly around the western suburb of Stup and
between the city's northern outskirts of Hotonj and the Serb-held
town of Vogosca, Sarajevo radio and military officials said.
However, the city centre reportedly suffered intense bombardment
in the evening.
Source(s): United Press International; Agence
France Presse.
- Targets Hit :
- The area around Stup; the area between the northern
outskirts of Hotonj and Vogosca; Hrasno; Nedzarici; Mojmilo;
Dobrinja; the city centre (in the evening); the area beside
Holiday Inn; the Parliament building; an old television tower in
Pofalici (a hill in the northern part of the city where there
were reported to be BiH artillery emplacements).
Source(s):
United Press International; Reuters; Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Numerous homes were reportedly razed by
Serb tank fire in Stup; Serb mortar attacks reportedly struck BiH
positions in Hrasno, Nedzarici, Mojmilo and Dobrinja; the city
centre reportedly suffered intense bombardment in the evening
with shells landing at around 7:00 p.m. just beside the Holiday
Inn. Five or six floors of the Parliament building were
reportedly in flames after shelling at 5:00 p.m.. Several
explosions were seen next to an old television tower in Pofalici
(a hill in the northern part of the city), where it was reported
that earlier in the day, Serb forces tried to wipe out BiH
artillery emplacements.
Source(s): United Press International;
Reuters; Agence France Presse.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- The BiH Public Health Ministry reported that 21
people were killed and 170 were wounded on this date in Sarajevo.
*1108
Source(s): BiH Ministry of Public Health.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Fighting reportedly eased around Sarajevo with clashes and
shellfire flaring intermittently throughout the day, mainly
around the western suburb of Stup and between the city's northern
outskirts of Hotonj and the Serb-held town of Vogosca, Sarajevo
radio and military officials said. But, a senior UNPROFOR
official said that the violence was «at least 30 percent less»
than the previous five days of assaults at Stup and along the
Vogosca-Hotonj front. The drop in fighting coincided with
accounts from refugees and local commanders that the Serbian
thrusts forced BiH troops to retreat on both fronts. The reports
contradicted official government statements that the Serbian
assaults had been repelled. *1109
Ahmed Rizvo, the BiH commander in Hotonj, said his units
retreated at least 100 yards on Friday evening, abandoning to
Serb fighters the topmost ridge of a strategic mountain. «The
first line has been moved. Our defenders are now 150 to 200
metres back», said Hebib Sevko, 54 a Bosnian Muslim electrician
from Stup. Sevko was among at least 1,460 men, women and children
who fled by trucks, cars, buses and foot into Sarajevo shortly
before midnight Friday after what they said was 27 hours of
pointblank Serbian tank fire into their homes. «My home was
totally destroyed. It was flattened», said Djuro Kuzman, 58, a
Serb among refugees put up at an elementary school in the
Alipasino Polje district of the city. Refugees said that at least
30 homes were systematically razed by Serbian tank fire that
killed at least six people and wounded 15 others since Thursday.
An evacuation was finally ordered, they said, when their pleas
for assistance went unheeded by BiH military headquarters. *1110
It was reported that Serb militia launched mortar attacks on
BiH positions in Hrasno, Nedzarici, Mojmilo and Dobrinja, local
journalists
said. *1111
The city centre reportedly suffered intense bombardment in
the evening with shells landing at around 7:00 p.m. just beside
the Holiday Inn. Five or six floors of the parliament building
were reportedly in flames, after shelling at 5:00 p.m.. Several
explosions were seen next to an old television tower in Pofalici
(a hill in the northern part of the city), where it was reported
that earlier in the day, Serb gunners tried to wipe out BiH
artillery emplacements. *1112
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
In Geneva, representatives of the warring factions agreed to
conditions for reopening Sarajevo airport and resumption of a UN
relief airlift. As a result, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Sadako Ogata said she was calling for resumption of the airlift
suspended after an Italian relief aeroplane was shot down two
weeks ago while approaching Sarajevo. However little other
progress was reported. UN sources said that the warring factions
still refused to speak to each other directly and the talks were
being conducted by mediators shuttling back and forth between the
delegations. *1115
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic stated that Serbs and
Croats could peacefully divide BiH, but that no pact was possible
with the Muslim-led BiH Government. *1116
Haris Silajdzic, head of the Bosnian Muslim negotiating
team, stated that the tripartite talks in Geneva would soon
become bilateral because a Muslim-Croatian coalition would be
formed. He said that the delegation, in addition to two Muslims
and two Serbs (Lazovic and Pejanovic), would include two Croats
and that a special place would be reserved for Bosnian Croat
leader Mate Boban. Boban, however, categorically rejected such a
possibility and stressed, rather, that two members of the Muslim
delegation, Parliament Vice Chairman Mariofil Ljubic and Minister
Miljenko Brkic, had joined the Croatian delegation. Boban was
accompanied at the news conference by Ljubic and
Brkic. *1117
20. 20/9/92 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Occasional shelling and gunfire was
heard around the city.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Dobrinja; Stup; Hrasno; Vogosca; the Lion Cemetery
in Sarajevo.
Source(s): Reuters; Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- At 11:30 a.m., mourners burying the bodies
of 12 war victims scattered when two mortar shells exploded
outside the Lion Cemetery. The mortars hit a road dividing the
cemetery from the Kosevo Hospital where the wounded were taken.
Source(s): Reuters; Agence France Presse.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- The BiH Public Health Ministry reported that 16
people were killed and 66 were wounded on this date in Sarajevo.
*1118 The BiH Public Health Ministry also reported that to date
2,252 people had been killed, 13,059 had been heavily wounded,
15,576 had been lightly wounded and 7,120 were missing. Of these
numbers 225 children had been killed, 3,264 had been heavily
wounded, 3,894 had been lightly wounded and 712 were missing.
*1119
Source(s): BiH Ministry of Public Health.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Occasional shelling and gunfire was heard around the city.
Unknown gunners reportedly fired machine-gun rounds towards a UN
convoy travelling from the airport to UNPROFOR headquarters. No
one was hit. *1120 Mortars reportedly hit the suburbs of Dobrinja
and Stup and there were also sporadic exchanges in Hrasno and
Vogosca, Sarajevo radio journalists reported. *1121
At 11:30 a.m., mourners burying the bodies of 12 war victims
scattered when two mortar shells exploded outside the Lion
Cemetery in Sarajevo. The mortars hit a road dividing the
cemetery from the Kosevo Hospital. The cemetery was screened by
trees, but the presence of people was plainly visible from the
surrounding hills. The wounded were evacuated to the Kosevo
Hospital, situated several hundred metres from the cemetery.
*1122
(b) Local reported events
A UN aeroplane flew into Sarajevo airport at 11:20 a.m. to
test conditions for resuming aid flights after a near three-week
hiatus. The flight also heralded stepped-up planning for a boost
in the 1,500 troop UNPROFOR, bringing in the French Deputy
Commander Morillon of the contingent for talks with the warring
factions on the expansion authorized last week by the UN Security
Council. *1123
Electricity and water supplies to the city had still not
been fully restored, Sarajevo radio reported. The radio said that
water would be transported in water tanks to areas in short
supply. It renewed an appeal to citizens to boil water before
consumption in order to avoid disease. *1124
(c) International reported events
Yugoslav Ambassador Dragomir Djokic warned in a letter to
the UN Security Council Chairman, that the recommendation to ban
Yugoslavia from the General Assembly was a dangerous precedent
which could threaten the peace talks and encourage those who
advocated the war option. The letter stated that the
recommendation was «a bad decision, politically unacceptable and
legally unfounded». *1125
United States President Bush nominated Victor Jackovich,
Mara M. Letica, and E. Allan Wendt as ambassadors to BiH,
Croatia, and Slovenia respectively. The statement from the White
House press office read, «With the nomination of ambassadors, the
establishment of full diplomatic relations with those three
states will be complete. The task of the ambassadors will be to
foster the vital political, economic, and commercial partnership
between the United States and those states, including the
development of democratic and market economy-oriented reforms.
*1126
21. 21/9/92 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Heavy fighting hit the city, ending
a one-day lull and cutting power to most of the city. Shellfire
and infantry battles began at around 8:00 a.m. across the
ridgelines and slopes of Zuc Mountain and around Vogosca, and
raged throughout the day. Fighting also erupted around Stup.
Serbian shellfire hit parts of the downtown, Mojmilo and
Dobrinja.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Several neighbourhoods near the downtown; Hrasno;
Mojmilo; Dobrinja.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- A 110-kilowatt feeder cable was allegedly
destroyed by Serbian forces, but it was not clear whether this
was caused by shelling or some other means.
Source(s): United
Press International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- The Health Ministry said that at least 22 people had
been killed and 64 others injured in Sarajevo during the 24 hour
period ending at 1:00 p.m.. *1127
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Heavy fighting hit the city, ending a one-day lull and
cutting power to most of the city. Shellfire and infantry fights
began at around 8:00 a.m. across the ridgelines and slopes of Zuc
Mountain, which divided the northern verge of Sarajevo and Serb-
held areas around the town of Vogosca, and raged throughout the
day. UNPROFOR sources confirmed serious fighting along the front
spanning Zuc mountain. Nirmin Silajdzic, a BiH officer in the
front line suburb of Hotonj on the eastern edge of Zuc, said that
Serbian gunners laid down intense artillery barrages in advance
of a «wave» of infantry attacks, which he claimed were beaten
back. Fighting and shellfire also flared in several
neighbourhoods near the downtown. *1128
Witnesses said that fighting then erupted around Stup to the
west, which tank-backed Serbian units had been trying to capture
for just over a week in an apparent attempt to consolidate their
grip on the potentially weakest point in their blockade. *1129
Explosions and gunfire marked the outbreak of clashes in
Hrasno and Sarajevo radio said that Serbian shellfire hit parts
of the downtown and the suburbs of Mojmilo and Dobrinja. *1130
Shortly after 10:00 a.m., electricity was cut to most of the
city. The BiH government blamed the disruption on the destruction
of a 110-kilowatt feeder cable by Serbian forces bent on «using
electricity . . . as a method of pressure against the citizens of
Sarajevo». The allegation was made by Energy and Industry
Minister Rusmir Mahmutcehajic in a letter to UN special envoy
Cyrus Vance and European Community mediator Lord David Owen.
Mahmutcehajic said that the alleged Serbian act violated an
accord reached in Geneva on Sunday in which the warring factions
agreed to safeguard electricity and water services. *1131
(b) International reported events
The first round of talks of the Working Group in Geneva
ended. Fred Eckhard, spokesman for the co-chairmen, said that
the leaders of the three delegations, Karadzic, Silajdzic, and
Boban, expressed a readiness to return when necessary. Talks were
scheduled to resume at a lower level on 22 September with Nikola
Koljevic and Aleksa Buha representing the Bosnian
Serbs. *1132
BiH President Izetbegovic attended the 47th session of the
UN General Assembly and met with Croatian President Franjo
Tudjman in the first of a series of meeting with various
statesmen attending the session. The two presidents stressed the
need for future cooperation in light of intensified aggression
against BiH. *1133
22. 22/9/92 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Fighting was reported to ease
around Sarajevo with sporadic clashes and artillery fire reported
after a day of fierce clashes on the western and northern edges
of the city.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Dobrinja; Stup; a Red Cross soup kitchen on Blagoje
Parovic Street (in the evening); Cetinjska Street (in the
evening).
Source(s): Reuters; United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- Three people were killed and 28 wounded
when a Serbian mortar shell hit a Red Cross soup kitchen on
Blagoje Parovic Street in the evening; at about the same time as
the soup kitchen shelling, another mortar shell exploded at
Cetinjska Street, wounding at least 17 people.
Source(s):
Reuters; United Press International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Three people were killed and 28 wounded when a
Serbian mortar shell hit a Red Cross soup kitchen on Blagoje
Parovic Street in the evening; at about the same time as the soup
kitchen shelling, another mortar shell exploded at Cetinjska
Street, wounding at least 17 people.
Source(s): Reuters; United
Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Fighting was reported to ease around Sarajevo with sporadic
clashes and artillery fire reported after a day of fierce clashes
on the western and northern edges of the city. *1134 Sarajevo
radio said that Serb forces shelled the suburb of Dobrinja and
the mainly Croat quarter of Stup. *1135
Three people were killed and 28 were wounded from a Serbian
mortar shell that slammed into a Red Cross soup kitchen on
Blagoje Parovic Street in the evening, Sarajevo radio reported.
*1136
At about the same time as the soup kitchen shelling, another
mortar shell exploded at Cetinjska Street, wounding at least 17
people, Sarajevo radio said. *1137
(b) Local reported events
General Phillipe Morillon of UNPROFOR stated that UN troops
would be posted along corridors in BiH to ensure humanitarian aid
deliveries under a major expansion of the force aimed at ending
blockades of Sarajevo and other towns. He arrived in Sarajevo on
20 September to begin planning for a 6,000 troop expansion in the
1,500 member UN force authorized last week by the UN Security
Council to ensure deliveries of humanitarian assistance.
Morillon said that the first step would be to reopen a highway
and railway line linking Sarajevo with Croatia's Adriatic port
city of Split. As part of the plan, UN troops would «take
control» of sections of the routes in Ilidza, a Serbian
stronghold on the western edge of Sarajevo, to permit the free
passage of goods and people in and out of the city. Many
Sarajevo families had been reported to have run out of food
because UNHCR truck convoys had been unable to make up the
shortfall caused by the airlift suspension. The airlift, which
carried an average of 200 tons of food and medicines daily, was
suspended after a 3 September missile attack downed an Italian
transport aeroplane, killing the four-man crew. *1138
The UNHCR delayed plans to send the first flight with relief
supplies into Sarajevo. UN officials said an aeroplane would be
sent from Zagreb, but only to pick up Brigadeer General Phillipe
Morillon, the deputy commander of the UN peace-keeping forces who
had been visiting Sarajevo. *1139
Bosnian Serb forces offered to open 10 land corridors out of
Sarajevo to enable civilians to leave the city. *1140
(c) International reported events
At international peace talks in Geneva, the BiH government
proposed a constitutional framework that would maintain BiH as a
single state but decentralize power to Serb and Croat regions.
The plan was rejected by the Serbs through Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic. *1141
In New York, BiH President Alija Izetbegovic urged that the
UN General Assembly either help his country or lift the arms
embargo against it. «The present arms embargo ties our hands at a
time when our country is being strangled», he said. «The
international community cannot simultaneously sidestep its
commitment to defend us and nullify our means of defense». *1142
The United Nations General Assembly voted to expel
Yugoslavia from its ranks and the United States called for Serbia
to be investigated for alleged war crimes in BiH. The assembly
voted by 127 to six with 26 abstentions to exclude a member for
the first time in the 47 year history of the organization.
Yugoslavia, comprising only of Serbia and Montenegro, would have
to reapply for admission and would not be regarded as the
successor state of the pre-war federation of six republics. The
US submitted to the Assembly a list of what it said were credible
allegations of war crimes committed by Serb forces armed by the
Yugoslav army. It included killings, the torture of prisoners,
destruction of property, deportations and the abuse of civilians
in detention camps. The State Department also indicated that the
United Nations should set up a commission to investigate the
charges and prosecute
offenders. *1143
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic condemned the United
Nations for barring Yugoslavia and announced that he «will no
longer make one-sided concessions» in future peace negotiations
(this was in reference to Serbian claims that they had complied
with a London peace conference agreement to put heavy artillery
under UNPROFOR supervision in several locations, including
Sarajevo). «The exclusion of Yugoslavia from the United Nations,
as in the case of our exclusion from the CSCE, is just the
continuation of international community pressure on the Serbian
people», Karadzic told a news conference in Belgrade. *1144
23. 23/9/92 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Fierce overnight fighting eased
after dawn to intermittent clashes and sniper fire and shelling
of civilian areas. Shelling resumed in the afternoon with at
least a dozen shells hitting the northern district of Pofalici.
Serb and BiH forces clashed with artillery and mortar in Vogosca
and other areas in and around the city.
Source(s): Agence France
Presse; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- The yard of the Tvornica Armatura factory, located
near UNPROFOR headquarters on the western end of the city; the
northern district of Pofalici; a tall residential building on the
road leading west towards the airport; Vogosca; the Cengic Vila
District; an apartment building in Hrasno.
Source(s): United
Press International; Agence France Presse; Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- One local worker and two French soldiers
with UNPROFOR were wounded by shrapnel from a mortar round that
exploded as they were accompanying workmen trying to cut metal
sheeting to repair a high-voltage transformer near the yard of
the Tvornica Armatura factory; at least a dozen shells landed in
the northern district of Pofalici; at least six shells hit a tall
residential building on the road leading west towards the
airport; seven people were injured in Dobrinja and 12 others
wounded in the Cengic Vila district of the city; one apartment
building was set ablaze by mortar fire in Hrasno.
Source(s):
United Press International; Agence France Presse; Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Serbian sniper fire reported in the city after
dawn.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Casualties :
- One local worker and two French soldiers with
UNPROFOR were wounded by shrapnel from a mortar round that
exploded as they were accompanying workmen trying to cut metal
sheeting to repair a high-voltage transformer near the yard of
the Tvornica Armatura factory; seven people were injured in
Dobrinja and 12 others wounded in the Cengic Vila district of the
city. The BiH Health Ministry said that at least 14 people had
been killed and 89 others injured in the city during the 24 hour
period that ended at 1:00 p.m.. *1145
Source(s): United Press
International; Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Fierce overnight fighting during which Serbian barrages of
the city set several major fires, eased after dawn to
intermittent clashes and Serbian sniper fire and shelling of
civilian areas, police and news reports said. Skirmishes between
BiH and Serbian lines along the city's northern front prevented a
UN supervised team of civilian technicians from repairing an
overhead cable carrying power to Sarajevo, UNPROFOR officials
said. «We made a morning attempt and one in the afternoon. At
both times there was fighting in that area, shelling and mortars,
and we could not reach the line», said Razak. The BiH government
charged that Serbian forces deliberately severed the line on
Monday, depriving electricity to most of Sarajevo in violation of
an agreement reached Sunday in Geneva on safeguarding utilities.
*1146
Two French soldiers with UNPROFOR were wounded by shrapnel
from a mortar round that exploded as they were accompanying
workmen trying to repair a high-voltage transformer station in
the city, Sarajevo radio reported. The radio blamed Serbian units
for firing the mortar round. *1147 UNPROFOR officials said the
mortar shell was believed to have been a stray round. It slammed
into the yard of the Tvornica Armatura factory, located near
UNPROFOR headquarters on the western end of Sarajevo, as the two
French soldiers and two local workers were cutting metal sheeting
to protect the Sarajevo airport control tower, they said.
Ukrainian Colonel Viktor Bezrouchenko, the UNPROFOR chief of
operations, said one local worker was injured along with the
French soldiers. The incident brought to at least 48 the number
of UNPROFOR troops injured since May. Four others had been
killed. *1148
Shelling resumed in the afternoon in Sarajevo, with at least
a dozen shells landing in the northern district of Pofalici. At
least six shells hit a tall residential building on the road
leading west towards the airport. *1149
Serb militia and BiH forces clashed with artillery and
mortar in Vogosca in the mountainous north of the city during the
evening. Seven people were injured in the suburb of Dobrinja and
12 others wounded in the Cengic Vila district of the city. In
Hrasno to the south, one apartment was set ablaze by mortar fire,
local journalists said. *1150
(b) Local reported events
24. 24/9/92 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Shelling and sniper activity were
reported in the city.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- A passenger car at an intersection near the Marsal
Tito Barracks; a public bus near the same location; an UNPROFOR
armoured vehicle in Azici.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- At noon a Serbian artillery round smashed
into a passenger car as it crossed an intersection near the
Marsal Tito barracks, killing the two occupants; another round
scored a direct hit on a public bus close to the same location,
killing at least one passenger and seriously wounding 15 others;
at 4:00 p.m., a Canadian captain and six Egyptian soldiers were
injured in Azici after the armoured personnel carrier in which
they were riding either detonated a mine, or was hit by shelling.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- At noon a Serbian artillery round smashed into a
passenger car as it crossed an intersection near the Marsal Tito
barracks, killing the two occupants; another round scored a
direct hit on a public bus close to the same location, killing at
least one passenger and seriously wounding 15 others; at 4:00
p.m., a Canadian captain and six Egyptian soldiers were injured
in Azici after the armoured personnel carrier in which they were
riding either detonated a mine, or was hit by shelling. Sarajevo
radio said that at least six people were killed and 37 others
injured during the day from Serbian shelling and sniper fire in
the city. *1153
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo radio and Dr. Sead Dezdarovic, a surgeon at the
French hospital, said a Serbian artillery round smashed at about
noon into a passenger car as it crossed an intersection near the
former Yugoslav army's Marsal Tito Barracks near the downtown,
killing the two occupants. A short time later, Dr. Dezdarovic
reported that another round scored a direct hit on a public bus
close to the same location, killing at least one passenger and
seriously wounding 15 others. The car and bus were using a pot-
holed back road that had become a major pedestrian and vehicular
route into the city centre because much of it was shielded by
high-rise buildings. *1154
Seven UN soldiers sustained injuries when an explosion hit
their armoured car. UNPROFOR officials said they were almost
certain a land mine caused the explosion that wounded a Canadian
captain and six Egyptian soldiers. BiH fighters, however,
contended that the armoured personnel carrier in which the seven
were riding was hit by a rocket launched by Serbian forces. «They
fired a rocket from a house», said one BiH soldier, Rusmir
Salihspahic. UNPROFOR officials and witnesses said the incident
occurred at about 4:00 p.m. in Azici, on the western edge of the
city as the armoured car was escorting a truck carrying two
corpses to a pre-arranged body exchange between BiH and Serbian
units. «The APC blew up in front of our eyes», said Eileen
Kleinman, a photographer riding in an armoured Land Rover
belonging to the BBC. «Everyone just abandoned their vehicles and
ran for cover». She and other witnesses said that a firefight
then erupted between BiH and Serbian units, as the personnel
carrier blazed in the middle of the road. Another UNPROFOR
armoured vehicle was dispatched to rescue the wounded and other
Egyptian troops who were unhurt, and take them back to the UN
headquarters. The vehicle was left in the road with the bodies
inside it. *1155
(b) Local reported events
Most of Sarajevo was without electricity or water for its
fourth consecutive day with repairmen being prevented from fixing
high-voltage cables because of shelling. *1156
UNHCR logistics chief Dag Espeland said that a Swiss company
had offered to lease the UNHCR three giant Ilyushin-76 cargo
aeroplanes of the Russian airline, Aeroflot, to deliver food and
medicine. He said the cost would be a relatively cheap $2 million
per month, and that the three aircraft could fly 150 tons of
supplies into Sarajevo's airport per day. He said the aeroplanes
would go a long way to making up for the loss of the humanitarian
airlift. Espeland said that truck convoys from Split had managed
to provide only a daily average of 44 tons of relief, compared to
the 183 tons provided by the airlift. *1157
25. 25/9/92 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- After sporadic clashes overnight,
fighting intensified in the morning with Serbian forces firing
mortar and howitzer shells on downtown Sarajevo and the suburbs.
*1158
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Downtown Sarajevo and the suburbs; an unidentified
Sarajevo street; Vogosca; Stup.
Source(s): United Press
International; Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Shortly after 9:00 a.m. a mortar shell
killed a man and injured three others in a Sarajevo street;
shelling of the city centre left two people dead and several
wounded and there were reports of at least seven shells hitting
the area.
Source(s): United Press International; Agence France
Presse.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Shortly after 9:00 a.m., a mortar shell killed a man
in a Sarajevo street and injured three others, Sarajevo radio
said. *1159 Sarajevo radio reported that shelling of the city
centre left two people dead and several wounded.
Source(s):
United Press International; Agence France Presse.
- Narrative of Events :
-
After sporadic clashes overnight, fighting intensified in
the morning with Serbian forces blasting mortar and howitzer
shells on downtown Sarajevo and the suburbs. *1160
Shortly after 9:00 a.m., a mortar shell killed a man in a
Sarajevo street and injured three others, Sarajevo radio said.
*1161
Sarajevo radio reported that shelling of the city centre
left two people dead and several wounded. There were reports of
at least seven shells hitting the area. There were also reports
of heavy fighting and shelling in the suburb of Vogosca and in
the western suburb of Stup. *1162
(b) Local reported events
The co-chairmen of the peace conference on 25-26 September
visited Zagreb and Banja Luka to examine the humanitarian
situation in the
region. *1163
A spokeswoman for UNPROFOR in Zagreb, Jeanny Peterson,
denied reports that UN troops were planning to pull out of
Sarajevo and said the force was searching out locations where the
6,000 peacekeepers due to arrive in BiH would be deployed. No
withdrawal was «planned now or in the foreseeable future» she
said. However the incoming troops «will not be confined to
Sarajevo». *1164
An estimated 80% of Sarajevo's 350,000 civilians were
reported to be without power and running water. Local Serbian
commanders were reported to have repeatedly refused to permit
work crews from the water company into Serbian-held areas to
repair pumps, clean filters, or replenish chlorine supplies.
Without chlorine, engineers were hampered in their efforts to
fight potential water-borne epidemics. *1165
26. 26/9/92 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Heavy overnight shelling was
reported to have eased in the morning. There was intermittent
shelling reported thereafter. Stup was periodically shelled and
Dobrinja came under heavy fire. BiH military forces reported that
Serb forces made an attempt to break through BiH lines with tanks
at Ilijas.
Source(s): United Press International; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Kobilja Glava; the Dobrinja District; Mount Igman;
Stup; Ilidza; Hrasno.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Two people were killed and one wounded by
a tank shell which hit the hillside district of Kobilja Glava, on
the north-eastern side of the city.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Sporadic sniper fire was heard around the
Holiday Inn Hotel in the evening.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Casualties :
- Two people were killed and one wounded by a tank
shell which hit the hillside district of Kobilja Glava, on the
north-eastern side of the city. The BiH Health Ministry reported
that in a 24 hour period ending at 1:00 p.m., at least 21 people
were killed and 104 wounded in Sarajevo. *1166
Source(s):
Reuters; United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Heavy overnight shelling was reported to have eased in the
morning, with Sarajevo police reporting relative calm. «There was
intermittent shelling coming from Serbian positions and Serbian
snipers continued their activities», a police spokesman said.
*1167
Local journalists said that two people were killed and one
was wounded by a tank shell which hit a hillside district,
Kobilja Glava, on the north-eastern side of the city. *1168
The southern suburb of Stup, held by Croats and Muslims, was
periodically shelled by Serb forces. *1169
The Dobrinja district to the south-west also came under
heavy fire from mortars and shells. *1170
BiH military sources said that Serbs made a vain attempt to
break through BiH lines with the aid of tanks at Ilijas to the
north-west. *1171
Sarajevo was blacked out in the evening with no power or
running water, but artillery flashes were reported to have lit
the sky to the south of Mount Igman, the BiH-held ridge
dominating the southern skyline. Shellfire was also heard from
the western suburbs of Stup and Ilidza where there had been heavy
fighting between BiH army and Serb forces over the past two
weeks. The southern suburb of Hrasno came under fire from what
appeared to be Serb mortars and tanks during the night while
sporadic automatic and sniper fire was heard around the Holiday
Inn Hotel. This all occurred after what was characterized in one
report as a «quiet day which gave Sarajevo residents the chance
to scramble out of doors to collect firewood for the coming
winter and to hunt for food». *1172
(b) Local reported events
The New York Times reported that Biljana Plavsic, a
professor of biology at the University of Sarajevo and one of
three chief Serbian leaders, told the BBC last week that the
Serbian aim was to seize «everything west of the Holiday Inn»,
which would give the Serbs control over half of Sarajevo. *1173
27. 27/9/92 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Renewed clashes were reported along
the airport road between Serb-held Ilidza and BiH lines at the
western end of the city. Serb heavy artillery opened up early in
the day on the suburb of Dobrinja and around Vogosca.
Source(s):
United Press International; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Dobrinja; Vogosca.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- The SRNA News Agency reported that 14 JNA soldiers
were killed, dozens wounded and 171 captured when unidentified
Muslim forces ambushed a column of JNA troops who were pulling
out of Sarajevo under UNPROFOR
escort. *1174 The Washington Post reported that to date Serb
forces had killed 2,100 city residents, injured more than 25,000
and damaged about 60% of the city's homes and apartments. *1175
The BiH Health Ministry reported that in Sarajevo, at least 14
people had been killed and 71 others wounded during the 24 hour
period that ended at 1:00 p.m.. *1176 The BiH Public Health
Ministry reported that to date, 2,349 people had been killed,
13,605 had been heavily wounded, 15,950 had been lightly wounded,
and 7,150 people were missing in Sarajevo. Of these numbers, it
was reported that 588 children had been killed, 3,401 had been
heavily wounded, 3,798 had been lightly wounded and 730 were
missing. *1177
Source(s): Tanjug News Agency; Washington Post;
United Press International; BiH Ministry of Public Health.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Serb heavy artillery opened up early in the day on the
suburb of Dobrinja and around Vogosca to the north-west of the
city. *1178
(b) Local reported events
French General Phillipe Morillon met with Bosnian Serb
leader Radovan Karadzic and won his agreement «in principle» for
expanded road access into Sarajevo for humanitarian deliveries, a
UN spokesman said. «I can arguably say that we have had progress
in getting this into operational terms», spokesman Adnan Razek
said after the meeting in Pale between Karadzic and French
General Phillipe Morillon, deputy commander of UNPROFOR. Morillon
planned to travel Monday to Belgrade to discuss the plan for
improved road access to Sarajevo with Serbian leaders including
President Milosevic, Razek said. *1179
Renewed clashes along the airport road between the Serb-held
suburb of Ilidza and BiH lines at the western end of the city
prompted General Morillon to cancel plans to visit the UN mission
and drive by armoured car to his meeting with Radovan Karadzic in
Pale. *1180
UNHCR officials said three days of fighting in the area of
the highway had prevented the transfer of aid from the agency
warehouse at the airport into Sarajevo, which required an average
of 220 tons of food daily. *1181
28. 28/9/92 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Only small arms fire was heard in
the city overnight but mortar and tank rounds began hitting the
western areas during the morning. *1182
Source(s): Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Western areas of the city (in the morning); the
cemetery in Boljakov Potok in the north-west part of the city
(noon); unidentified street in western Sarajevo (1:00 p.m.); the
area near the UN headquarters.
Source(s): Reuters; United Press
International; New York Times.
- Description of Damage :
- Five mourners were killed and more than 20
were wounded when a mortar bomb hit at noon at the cemetery at
Boljakov Potok; six civilians were wounded at around 1:00 p.m.
when a shell landed on a street in western Sarajevo.
Source(s):
Reuters; United Press International; New York Times.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Five mourners were killed and more than 20 were
wounded when a mortar bomb hit at noon at the cemetery at
Boljakov Potok; Six civilians were wounded at around 1:00 p.m.
when a shell landed on a street in western Sarajevo. In the 24
hour period ending at 10:00 a.m., nine people were killed and 65
were wounded in Sarajevo, BiH officials said. The total did not
include those among the 40 to 50 mourners attacked at about noon
at the cemetery in Boljakov Potok in the north-west part of the
city. *1183
Source(s): Reuters; United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Only small arms fire was heard in the city overnight but
mortar and tank rounds began hitting the western areas during the
morning. *1184
BiH radio reported that three mourners were killed and more
than 20 were wounded when a mortar bomb hit at around noon at a
cemetery in Sarajevo. The radio blamed «Cetniks» for firing the
mortar at the cemetery at Boljakov Potok, near the Sarajevo
television centre, but there was no proof of responsibility. It
was later reported that two others died after being brought to
hospitals. The shells reportedly fell just as the assembled
mourners were awaiting burial of an elderly woman who had died of
natural causes, said Bezdrob Muharem, who suffered shrapnel
wounds to his back and leg. *1185
Another six civilians were wounded at around 1:00 p.m. when
a shell landed on a street in western Sarajevo. *1186
Artillery shells fired from Serbian positions in Nedzarici
fell a few hundred yards from the United Nations headquarters in
Sarajevo. *1187
(b) Local reported events
The co-chairmen of the peace conference visited Belgrade.
*1188 Talks in Belgrade's Palace of the Federation between
Yugoslav President Cosic and the co-chairmen ended in the
evening. Both sides indicated satisfaction with the talks and
Lord Owen reported that specific progress was made on the issues
of opening the Belgrade-Zagreb highway and constructing the
Maslenica bridge in southern Croatia. *1189
Sarajevo radio warned the inhabitants of the city to be
ready for a new Serb offensive. The radio carried a message from
the BiH military command, saying Serb forces were concentrated in
Vogosca, Ilidza, Grbavica and were apparently poised for fresh
assaults in those areas. (Vogosca to the north-west and Ilidza to
the south-west of the city had been under heavy artillery attack
in recent days, possibly as the prelude to an infantry assault.
Grbavica, a suburb to the south-west, had also been the frequent
scene of bitter fighting. BiH military sources said that the
Serbs wanted to push north from there to cut the city in half).
The radio also said that the BiH government had sent an official
letter of protest to the United Nations in New York over the
cutting off of water and power supplies to the city by the Serbs.
*1190
29. 29/9/92 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sarajevo was hit by artillery
shells, mortar rounds and small arms fire amid dire warnings from
the BiH military command of an imminent Serbian offensive. The
city's worst attacks in weeks were reported with shelling
activity intensifying at midday.
Source(s): Agence France Presse;
United Press International; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Marsal Tito Street; the square near the Roman
Catholic Cathedral; the Energoinvest Company building; the city
centre (hit with particular intensity in the afternoon); Vogosca;
the Old Town; Dobrinja.
Source(s): Reuters; United Press
International; Agence France Presse.
- Description of Damage :
- Artillery shells and mortar rounds hit
the main thoroughfare, Marsal Tito Street and the square near the
Roman Catholic Cathedral just as residents were out scouring the
shops for food. Several rockets fell at around 10:00 a.m. in and
around the gutted downtown shopping district, hitting homes,
shops and offices, killing three people and wounding at least 26
others. Rockets slammed into a building near the Magros clothing
store and showered the pedestrian shopping mall with shrapnel and
glass. Glass shards and pools of blood could be seen on an
adjacent sidewalk just a few feet from the flower pots and a hand-
lettered sign marking the sport were a mortar shell on a bread
line on 27 May; the Energoinvest Company building was set afire
by shelling; tank mortar and artillery attacks were reported in
Vogosca with sporadic shelling reported on the old quarter and
the suburb of Dobrinja.
Source(s): Reuters; United Press
International; Agence France Presse.
- Sniping Activity :
- Snipers shot dead at least three people during
the morning and prevented fire-fighters from extinguishing a
blazing city centre skyscraper housing the Energoinvest Company
which was set afire by
shelling. *1191
Source(s): Agence France Presse.
- Casualties :
- Overnight bombardments in Sarajevo reportedly left 11
dead and 26 wounded, according to figures released by city
hospitals and the
morgue. *1192; three people were killed and at least 26 others
wounded in a shelling incident near Marsal Tito Street; snipers
shot dead at least three people during the morning. Officials
said that in the 24 hour period ending at 10:00 a.m., 15 people
were killed in Sarajevo and 90 were wounded. *1193
Source(s):
Agence France Presse; Reuters; United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo was hit by artillery shells, mortar rounds and
small arms fire amid dire warnings from the BiH military command
of an imminent Serbian offensive. «Fresh troops and heavy weapons
have been deployed around the besieged city», a military
spokesman said. The BiH government had been warning of a pre-
winter offensive by Serbian forces since the weekend. BiH leader
Ejup Ganic said in New York that tank movements around the
strategic site of Grbavica, a good indicator of a major
offensive, had increased six-fold and reinforcements from Serbia
and Montenegro were approaching Visegrad, «burning and destroying
everything in their path». In Sarajevo itself, the BiH military
spokesman said Serbian troops were massing in their suburban
strongholds of Ilidza, Kula and Lukavica, between the airport and
the south-west of the city. Other key points reinforced over the
weekend included Vogosca to the north and Grbavica, near the city
centre but south of the Miljacka River bisecting the city from
east to west. *1194
Overnight bombardments in Sarajevo reportedly left 11 dead
and 26 wounded, according to figures released by city hospitals
and the morgue. *1195
In the city's worst attack in weeks, artillery shells and
mortar rounds reportedly hit the main thoroughfare, Marsal Tito
Street, and the square near the Roman Catholic Cathedral just as
residents were out scouring the shops for food. *1196 Several
rockets fell around 10:00 a.m. in and around the gutted downtown
shopping district, hitting homes, shops and offices, killing
three people and wounding at least 26 others, officials said.
Sevala Hasovic, manager of the Magros clothing store, said she
was at the shop when rockets slammed into a nearby building used
by the BiH military and showered the pedestrian shopping mall
with shrapnel and glass. «Me and a colleague, we were sitting
inside and suddenly it exploded», Hasovic said as she and several
co-workers swept up glass and rubble. «Then we heard people
screaming». Glass shards and pools of blood could be seen on an
adjacent sidewalk just a few feet from the flower pots and a hand-
lettered sign marking the spot where a mortar shell fell on 27
May, killing 18 people waiting in a bread line. *1197
Snipers shot dead at least three people during the morning
and prevented fire-fighters from extinguishing a blazing city
centre skyscraper housing the Energoinvest Company which was set
afire by shelling. *1198
Shelling intensified midday in a variety of districts
throughout the city, the centre in particular being shelled in
the afternoon and hit with rapid-fire canons, machine-guns and
assault rifles. *1199 BiH radio reported tank, mortar and
artillery attacks in Vogosca to the north-west and there was
sporadic shelling reported in the old quarter and in the suburb
of
Dobrinja. *1200
(b) Local reported events
The Serbian Radical Party (SRS) group of deputies, the
strongest opposition party in the Yugoslav parliament, raised the
question of the «constitutional competency» of Cosic and Panic to
negotiate on the state border with Croatia. In a letter to the
President of the Yugoslav parliament's Chamber of Citizens,
Jugoslav Kostic, the party led by Vojislav Seselj demanded that
the question of Prevlaka be placed on the agenda of the 2 October
session. The group claimed that Cosic and Panic were discussing
the issue of the Yugoslav state border without the parliament's
approval, and that the federal parliament was the only body
«competent» to decide on changes of the country's borders. *1201
French General Phillipe Morillon arrived in Sarajevo and
travelled to nearby Pale for further talks with Bosnian Serb
leader Radovan Karadzic on opening a new aid supply corridor to
the city. *1202
Salem Karovic, chief of the city's water distribution
system said that Serbs controlling the area around the city's
main water supply at Bacevo turned off the supply to Sarajevo on
Sunday night, in apparent violation of an agreement made one week
earlier at the peace talks in Geneva. *1203
The city received its first delivery of humanitarian
supplies in four days (some 80 metric tons carried in 12 trucks),
but only after a showdown in which UN officials backed by French
troops obtained the release of four Bosnian Muslim drivers and a
local UN worker in an eight-truck convoy detained by Serbian
militiamen. *1204
UNHCR warned that up to 400,000 people could die in the
approaching winter in BiH. UNHCR spokeswoman Silvana Foa said:
«We now have a situation where people are unable to return home,
they are unable to seek asylum, they have nothing for the winter.
We are going to see a lot of people die», she said, adding that
the international community must provide emergency assistance.
*1205
(c) International reported events
The co-chairmen of the peace conference met with BiH
President Izetbegovic in Geneva. *1206 Izetbegovic reported to
have said that he had agreed to the demilitarization of Sarajevo.
*1207
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said
that US aircraft would soon resume relief flights to Sarajevo but
that «precise details» must still be worked out. Diplomatic
sources taking part in the Peace Conference on the former
Yugoslavia said in Geneva earlier that the airlift would be
resumed in 24 to 48 hours. The UNHCR was still trying to obtain
«commitments to get a secure corridor» from the warring parties
in the country, Williams said. *1208
30. 30/9/92 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Not specified
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- BiH health officials reported that in the 24 hour
period that ended at 10:00 a.m., seven people were killed and 54
were wounded in
Sarajevo. *1209
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
It was reported that Serb forces evicted up to 200 non-
Serbs from their homes in a resumption of «ethnic cleansing»
operations in Sarajevo, ordering them on short notice to vacate
their homes and cross into BiH-controlled territory, UN and BiH
officials said. A UN source said the Red Cross estimated 150
people were forced from their homes in Grbavica in the southern
part of Sarajevo, while a BiH police source estimated 200 people
were involved. *1210
Some of the family members taken to a police station
after crossing by foot from the northern side of the Miljacka
River said they were given 10 minute warnings to pack their
belongings and leave. «It's happened a couple of times»
previously but on a smaller scale, said Senada Kreso of the BiH
International Press Centre, who said most of those expelled in
the incident of «urban ethnic cleansing» were women and the
elderly. *1211
It was reported that BiH officials said they knew no
reason for the incident, but they speculated it might indicate
that Serb militiamen were preparing for the start of the harsh
Balkan winter. Those expelled from the area along the Serb front
lines were mostly Bosnian Muslims. *1212
(b) Local reported events
UNPROFOR's Sarajevo commander Brigadier General Hussein
Abdel Razek, met with Bosnian Serb leaders for several hours at
their military headquarters in Lukavica to continue seeking
agreements allowing for the restoration of electricity and water
and protection for utility workers. *1213
The city's hospital reportedly ran out of diesel fuel
needed for its electrical generator at about 1:00 p.m. and
doctors were forced to perform surgery for a while under the
light of a bulb connected to an automobile battery. A spokesman
for UNPROFOR said that they later supplied the hospital with four
to five tons of diesel fuel. *1214
(c) International reported events
Presidents Tudjman and Cosic met in Geneva under the
auspices of the co-chairmen. *1215
Talks in Geneva ended with the signing of a joint
settlement by Tudjman, Cosic and the co-chairmen. The statement
assessed that it was necessary to normalize relations between
Croatia and Yugoslavia through mutual recognition on the basis of
the London Conference conclusions and declared that both
countries would make possible the return of all refugees to their
homes through emergency measures. The presidents also agreed
among other issues, to solve all problems peacefully and refrain
from ethnic cleansing. They agreed to meet again on 20 October in
the presence of the co-chairmen. *1216
G. October 1992
1. 1/10/92 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Shelling was reported as light as
the city remained relatively quiet through much of the day until
Serbian forces on the hills overlooking the city launched two
artillery attacks.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Sarajevo's two main hospitals reported that at least
five people were killed and 105 injured during attacks. *1217
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Fighting was reported as «light» in Sarajevo. The city
remained relatively quiet through much of the day until Serbian
militia forces on the hills overlooking the city launched two
artillery attacks. One person was killed in the fighting and 59
others were wounded. *1218
(b) Local reported events
Serb forces reportedly evicted up to 500 non-Serbs from
their homes in Sarajevo, ordering them (on short notice) to
vacate their homes and cross into BiH controlled territory, often
times under gunfire. *1219 The Serbian soldiers directing the
eviction reportedly stole jewelry and money from these people.
Some of the soldiers reportedly wore the black jumpsuits and
double-headed eagle badges of the paramilitary faction led by
Zeljko Raznjatovic (Arkan). *1220
(c) International reported events
2. 2/10/92 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Artillery attacks from Serbian
forces in the hills overlooking Sarajevo continued. A reported
Serbian infantry attack across the bridge at Vrbanja crossing the
Miljacka was said to have been pushed back. Ground fighting was
also reported in Stup and Hrasno. A machine-gun battle raged near
the Holiday Inn.
Source(s): United Press International; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Artillery attacks from Serbian forces in the hills
overlooking Sarajevo continued. Tank shells, mortar rounds and
grenades were fired on the city from Vogosca, a suburb behind the
hills north of Sarajevo, and from Borija, a neighbourhood on a
hill east of the city. *1224
Radio reports said Serbian forces attempted an infantry
attack across the bridge at Vrbanja, crossing the Miljacka River
running through central Sarajevo, but were pushed back by BiH
defenders. *1225
Ground fighting was reported in BiH controlled Stup on
the western fringe of Sarajevo. *1226
An intense machine-gun battle was fought around the
Holiday Inn near central Sarajevo. There was also fighting in
the Muslim held suburb of Hrasno as Moslem and Serb forces
continued attacks on each other. *1227
(b) Local reported events
The New York Times reported that at least 150 Muslim
women and teen-age girls who had crossed in Government-held areas
of Sarajevo in recent weeks were said to be in advanced stages of
pregnancy and had asserted that they became pregnant after being
raped by Serbian nationalist fighters. They also said they had
been imprisoned for months afterward in an attempt to keep them
from having abortions. *1228
3. 3/10/92 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sarajevo was hit with sporadic
shelling throughout the day, including anti-aircraft machine-gun
and sniper fire. Artillery shells hit the neighbourhoods of Dolac
Malta and Cengic Vila in the evening.
Source(s): United Press
International; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Dolac Malta and Cengic Vila neighbourhoods (Friday
evening).
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Three people were killed and 15 others
wounded (including six children) when artillery shells hit the
residential neighbourhoods of Dolac Malta and Cengic Vila Friday
evening. An apartment block in Cengic Vila was still burning on
Saturday when the district was again hit by mortars.
Source(s):
Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Sniper fire was reported throughout the day.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Casualties :
- Three people were killed and 15 others wounded
(including six children) when artillery shells hit the
residential neighbourhoods of Dolac Malta and Cengic Vila Friday
evening; at least five people were injured by attacks in Otes.
Source(s): Reuters; United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
At least five people were injured by the attacks in
Otes, in the southern part of the capital. *1229
In Sarajevo, three people were killed and 15 others
wounded when artillery shells hit the residential neighbourhoods
of Dolac Malta and Cengic Vila Friday evening. An apartment
block in Cengic Vila was still burning on Saturday when the
district was hit again by mortars. Six children were among the
wounded. Ten year-old Sasa Vojinovic, a Serb, had his left leg
blown off, while Muslim Ema Karojic, aged seven, had her spleen,
a kidney and part of her intestine removed because of shrapnel
wounds. *1230
(b) Local reported events
4. 4/10/92 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Shelling of Sarajevo by Serbian
forces continued at around 10:30 a.m., including the sporadic
artillery and tank bombardment of the city's Old Town section.
BiH and Serb infantry forces fought with small arms in Hrasno,
and shellfire was reported in Dobrinja, Vasin Han, Mojmilo and
Stup.
Source(s): United Press International; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Dobrinja; Vasin Han; Mojmilo; Vojvoda Putnik; Stup;
the Old Town section, the central part of the city.
Source(s):
United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- Four mortars fell on Vojvoda Putnik,
wounding a number of people.
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Snipers were active in the new part of the
city, wounding at least one woman at Pero Kosoric square.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Casualties :
- One woman was wounded by sniper fire at Pero Kosoric
square. In the last 24 hours four persons were killed and 57
wounded in Sarajevo. *1234
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
BiH and Serb infantry forces fought with small arms in
Hrasno, a neighbourhood where there was nightly fighting. The
positions of the two sides were separated in places by a single
residential street. *1235 Shellfire was reported in Dobrinja,
Vasin Han and Mojmilo. Sarajevo radio reported that four mortars
fell on Vojvoda Putnik street wounding a number of people. *1236
Shelling was reported in Stup, the western district
flanking a main access route into the city. *1237
Shelling of Sarajevo by Serbian forces continued at
around 10:30 a.m., including the sporadic artillery and tank
bombardment of the city's Old Town section. Anti-aircraft
machine-guns and artillery guns also shot sporadically from
Sarajevo's Jewish cemetery and the Zlatiste hill into the central
part of the city. Snipers were also active in the new part of
the city, wounding at least one woman at Pero Kosoric square.
*1238
(b) Local reported events
5. 5/10/92 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sporadic overnight shelling was
reported throughout the city, particularly in the south-western
area of Dobrinja. Serbian forces from Vraca in the south hills
fired a barrage of artillery into the city in the morning that
heavily damaged and set fire to numerous buildings. Shelling was
also reported in Hrasno, Hum Hill and Vogosca.
Source(s): United
Press International; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Apartment buildings (some along Darovalaca Krvi
Street); an electrical utility building (Elektroprivreda
building); a television transmitter (on Hum Hill); south-western
Dobrinja; downtown Sarajevo; the Old Town section; Pero Kosoric
Square; three apartment buildings and two office buildings (one
belonging to the municipal administration) in the Hrasno
district; the Holiday Inn; the Post Telegraph and Telephone
building and a nearby tobacco factory; numerous houses adjacent
to shelled office buildings; Vogosca; a water truck in Pofalici.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- Serbian forces in the hills fired scores
of artillery rounds that heavily damaged or set fire to apartment
buildings, an electrical utility and television transmitter.
Numerous apartment buildings along Darovalaca Krvi Street were
bombarded and set on fire. The television transmitter on Hum
Hill, took a direct hit. Between 50 and 100 injured people were
brought to the Kosevo hospital complex, mostly from the Old Town
section and Pero Kosoric Square which was bombarded. Thick black
smoke poured from a downtown office of Elektroprivreda, the main
electricity supplier; In the Hrasno district, shelling set fire
to three apartment buildings and two office buildings (one
belonging to the municipal administration). Workers inside the
municipal building said that it was struck by two mortar rounds.
The downtown Holiday Inn was hit at around 8:15 a.m. on the fifth
floor facing toward Grbavica and set on fire. Rockets hit and set
fire to the downtown offices of the Post Telegraph and Telephone
building and a nearby tobacco factory. Houses around the offices
hit in Sarajevo were also badly damaged and burning. At around
9:00 a.m., a water truck that brought water daily to Pofalici, in
the north-central part of the city was directly hit while driving
along a road.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Sporadic sniper fire into the city began at
around 7:00 a.m..
Source(s): United Press International.
- Casualties :
- Between 50 and 100 injured were taken to the Kosevo
hospital complex, mostly from the centre of the Old Town section
and Pero Kosoric Square; Clinics in the Pero Kosoric square
neighbourhood reported they had received nine dead and 21 wounded
by mid-afternoon--all of them civilians and most of them victims
of tank and sniper fire. *1240
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Serbian forces in the hills overlooking Sarajevo fired
scores of artillery rounds that heavily damaged or set fire to
apartment buildings, an electrical utility and a television
transmitter. The attacks began with sporadic overnight shelling
throughout the city, particularly in the south-western area of
Dobrinja and escalated into a heavy downtown attack involving
grenades, mortars and tank fire. Between 50 and 100 injured
people were brought to the Kosevo hospital complex, mostly from
the centre of the Old Town section and Pero Kosoric Square, a
front-line area just south of the Miljacka River. Thick black
smoke poured from a downtown business office of Elektroprivreda,
BiH main electricity supplier. *1241
In the Hrasno district, shelling set fire to three
apartment buildings and two office buildings, one of them
belonging to the municipal administration. Workers inside said
it was struck by two mortar rounds and that the fire was started
by phosphorus bullets fired from anti-aircraft
guns. *1242
Clinics in the Pero Kosoric square neighbourhood
reported they had received nine dead and 21 wounded by mid-
afternoon, all of them civilians and most of them victims of tank
and sniper fire. *1243
The morning barrage on the capital came from Serbian-
controlled areas of Vraca, a hilly area in the southern part of
the city, and nearby Ozrenska Street, according to Sarajevo
radio. Mortars, grenades and tank shells repeatedly hit Pero
Kosoric Square, killing and injuring an unknown number of people,
the radio said. The bombardment also hit numerous apartment
buildings along Darovalaca Krvi Street, setting them on fire.
Sporadic sniper firing into the city also began around 7:00 a.m.,
the radio reported. *1244
The downtown Holiday Inn, which housed many foreign
journalists, was also hit around 8:15 a.m. on the fifth floor
facing toward Grbavica, and set on fire. Two journalists working
for the French television network TF-1 were slightly injured by
flying glass on the ground floor, said Amra Abadzic, a translator
for the Reuters news agency. *1245
Rockets hit and set fire to the downtown offices of the
Post Telegraph and Telephone building and a nearby tobacco
factory, Sarajevo radio reported. The attack on the telephone
exchange building caused unknown damage but no reported injuries,
according to Enes Arnautovic, general director of PTT in
Sarajevo. *1246
Houses around the offices hit in Sarajevo were also
badly damaged and burning, Sarajevo radio reported. The
television transmitter on Hum Hill, to the north of the city also
took a direct hit, it said. Around 9:00 a.m., a water truck that
brought water daily to Pofalici, in the north-central part of the
city, was directly hit while driving along a road. Vogosca, a
northern suburb of Sarajevo also suffered a heavy grenade attack
during the morning Sarajevo radio reported. *1247
(b) Local reported events
Attacks followed a relatively quiet weekend and came
one day before the head of the newly formed UNPROFOR operation
for BiH was due to visit Sarajevo and meet again with Bosnian
Serb leaders. Topics for the meeting were expected to include
the new headquarters for the UNPROFOR command. UNPROFOR
officials were hoping to place it in Ilidza to help break a main
bottleneck for humanitarian aid convoys reaching Sarajevo by
land. *1248
Electricity and water supplies to Sarajevo, which had
been out of commission between several days and several weeks
across the city, remained out of commission despite continued
efforts by UNPROFOR troops to accompany repair crews to damaged
facilities. Sarajevo radio said that electricity had been
restored to the city's main wellfield and pumping station in the
Serbian-controlled western suburb of Bacevo, allowing service to
be resumed in the adjacent Serbian-controlled city of Ilidza, but
it said the lines serving Sarajevo remained badly damaged.
Telephone service inside the city, which was partially
disconnected two days prior because of a lack of fuel for
electricity generators, was restored Monday, but it was reported
that there was only enough diesel fuel to run the system for
another two days. *1249
A 10 truck convoy organized by the UNHCR brought
another 100 tons of food aid to Sarajevo, but workers were
prevented by the heavy shelling from unloading, according to Marc
Vachon, the UNHCR's chief of logistics at the Sarajevo airport.
*1250
(c) International reported events
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic announced in
Geneva that the Serb Republic of BiH categorically rejected the
US proposal to the UN Security Council for an air-exclusion zone
over BiH «except for humanitarian flights» and asserted that the
proposal was an attempt to secure a strategic advantage for the
Bosnian Muslim forces, which was not in accordance with the
decisions of the London Conference. In a letter to the Security
Council, Karadzic warned that the Serb side had no choice but to
ignore any proposal for a ban on flights. In a statement to
Tanjug, Karadzic also confirmed a warning that if the proposal to
neutralize the flights passed, his side would abandon all
negotiations within the International Conference on Yugoslavia
and close down its mission in Geneva. *1251
The US Senate passed its foreign aid bill, which
included $35 million for refugee assistance to the former
Yugoslavia. *1252
6. 6/10/92 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- There was sporadic shelling of
Stari Grad and Dobrinja. The city was reportedly bombarded by
Serbian forces.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Stari Grad area; Dobrinja.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Twenty-four people were reported killed and 133
others wounded in Sarajevo in the last 24 hours. *1253
Source(s):
United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
There was sporadic shelling of Stari Grad, the district
next to Sarajevo's Old Town, where the city's eastern front line
was located. Shelling was also reported in Dobrinja. *1254
Serbian military sources said that BiH forces were
amassing troops around Mount Igman, south of the city, possibly
in preparation for a drive to reclaim parts of Sarajevo. *1255
(b) International reported events
7. 7/10/92 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Serbian artillery batteries
stepped up their bombardment of Muslim neighbourhoods in the
morning and the shelling of Hrasno continued.
Source(s):
Washington Post; New York Times.
- Targets Hit :
- Muslim neighbourhoods; Hrasno (including a group of
four 21 story apartment buildings dominating the district); a
civilian complex, Alipasino Polje, just across from UNPROFOR
headquarters; Vogosca (including the road connecting it with
Sarajevo); the area near the BiH Presidency building.
Source(s):
Washington Post; New York Times; United Press International;
Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Serb forces fired repeatedly at a group of
four 21 story apartment buildings dominating the district, using
incendiary shells to start them afire. Two of the buildings were
gutted and the other two destroyed above the 10th floors. At
least 1,000 people were left homeless and 17 people were reported
killed.
Source(s): Washington Post; New York Times; United Press
International; Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- In Hrasno, the destruction of a group of four 21
story apartment buildings left 17 people dead and 1,000 people
homeless.
Source(s): New York Times.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Serbian artillery batteries surrounding Sarajevo
stepped up their bombardment of Muslim neighbourhoods in what the
government radio described as «one of the most hellish mornings
since the beginning of the war». Heavy ground fighting was
reported in several areas of the city, and the continued Serb
shelling made it difficult to distribute supplies flown in since
the resumption of the UN sponsored airlift. *1259
The shelling of Hrasno continued. Serb forces fired
repeatedly at a group of four 21 story apartment buildings
dominating the district, using incendiary shells to set them
afire. Two of the buildings were gutted and the other two
destroyed above the 10th floors. The Sarajevo fire department did
not have the capabilities to pump water above the 10th story of
buildings. At least 1,000 people were left homeless and 17
people were reported
killed. *1260
A civilian apartment complex, Alipasino Polje, just
across the street from UNPROFOR headquarters was shelled. *1261
Serbian forces based in Poljine shot artillery and tank
fire into the northern suburb of Vogosca and onto the road
connecting it with
Sarajevo. *1262
Heavy 155 millimetre artillery shells and mortar bombs
fell near the BiH Presidency building for over an hour. *1263
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
8. 8/10/92 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The warring factions regrouped
after three days of heavy fighting, but sporadic clashes were
reported.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- UNPROFOR headquarters.
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Description of Damage :
- Two Egyptian UN soldiers were wounded when
their headquarters came under mortar fire.
Source(s): United
Press International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Sporadic clashes killed at least one and wounded 26.
Two of the wounded included UN soldiers hit when their
headquarters came under mortar fire. *1267 At least 37 people
were killed and 190 wounded in BiH in 24 hours of fighting that
ended at 10:00 a.m., about one third of them in
Sarajevo. *1268
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Warring factions in Sarajevo regrouped after three days
of heavy fighting, but sporadic clashes killed at least one and
wounded 26, including two Egyptian UN soldiers who were hit when
their headquarters came under mortar fire. *1269
(b) Local reported events
9. 9/10/92 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sarajevo was relatively quiet with
sporadic fighting and intermittent shelling. *1272
Source(s): New
York Times.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- In the 24 hour period that ended at 10:00 a.m. 12
people were killed and 62 others wounded in Sarajevo. *1273
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo was relatively quiet with sporadic fighting
and intermittent shelling. *1274
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
10. 10/10/92 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sarajevo was bombarded. Some 1500
shells fell throughout the day around Ilijas, just north of the
city. *1278
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- A group of children in an unspecified section of
Sarajevo; Ilijas.
Source(s): Helsinki Watch; United Press
International.
- Description of Damage :
- A mortar was fired into a crowd of
children in Sarajevo, killing three and wounding 10.
Source(s):
Helsinki Watch; United Press International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- A mortar from Serbian artillery was fired into a
crowd of children in Sarajevo, killing three and wounding 10. At
least two of the wounded had limbs amputated. One victim was a 16
year-old girl named Samra Kapetanovic, the other two were a five
year-old girl and a 10 year-old boy. At Kosevo Hospital in
Sarajevo, nine dead and 70 seriously wounded civilians had been
received by the trauma unit. A total of 43 people were reported
killed and 194 wounded by bombardment in two days; *1279 one UN
soldier was killed and three injured when their vehicle hit a
landmine in Sarajevo. *1280
Source(s): Helsinki Watch.
- Narrative of Events :
-
A mortar from Serbian artillery was fired into a crowd
of children in Sarajevo, killing three and wounding 10. At least
two of the wounded had limbs amputated. One victim was a 16 year-
old girl named Samra Kapetanovic, the other two were a five year-
old girl and a 10 year-old boy. At Kosevo Hospital in Sarajevo,
nine dead and 70 seriously wounded civilians had been received by
the trauma unit. A total of 43 people were reported killed and
194 wounded by bombardment in two days. *1281
One UN soldier was killed and three injured when their
vehicle hit a landmine in Sarajevo. *1282
Some 1,500 shells fell throughout the day around
Ilijas, just north of Sarajevo. *1283
(c) International reported events
11. 11/10/92 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Not specified
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- To date, more than 600 children had been killed in
the six-month siege of Sarajevo, and nearly 800 children were
listed as missing. *1285 In the 24 hour period ending at 10:00
a.m. six people were killed and 20 injured in Sarajevo. *1286
Source(s): New York Times; United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
No reported incidents.
(b) Local reported events
12. 12/10/92 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- United Nations military
peacekeepers carried through their promise to begin publishing
statistics on the amount of artillery each side in Sarajevo was
firing. The statistics made no distinction between military and
civilian targets. The most recent daily UN artillery statements
released reported for the 24 hour period from 5:00 p.m. Sunday to
5:00 p.m. Monday, listed 137 rounds hitting BiH controlled areas
and 35 rounds hitting Serbian controlled ares. The cumulative
total for the first six days of the report, dating back to 5:00
p.m. on 6 October listed 896 shells reaching BiH controlled
territory and 273 shells reaching Serbian controlled territory.
*1288
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Vogosca; Stup; an UNPROFOR flight descending into
the city (target not hit).
Source(s): United Press International;
Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
The city remained relatively quiet, although there was
some anti-aircraft fire in Vogosca, north of the city. Police
attributed the lull to the presence in the city of General
Phillipe Morillon. *1289
There was shelling all day in Stup on the outskirts of
Sarajevo. *1290
An UNPROFOR flight into Sarajevo was fired on during
its descent into the city. *1291
(b) Local reported events
13. 13/10/92 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR's daily survey of arms
fire in the Sarajevo area indicated that UN observers recorded a
total of 21 rounds of large artillery fired onto Serbian-
controlled areas and 91 rounds reaching BiH-controlled territory
during the 24 hour period that ended at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday. *1294
Although there had been no major fighting in almost a week,
sniper fire was reported throughout the city.
Source(s): United
Press International; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- Sarajevo's power lines; the outskirts of the Old
Town.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Mortar bombs destroyed Sarajevo's power
lines just hours before electricity was to be restored.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Snipers were reported at various intersections
in the city.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
Mortar bombs destroyed Sarajevo's power lines just
hours before electricity was to be restored. It was reported
that 90% of the attempts to repair Sarajevo's electrical lines
«have been aborted because of attacks on the technicians by one
party or the other». *1295
It was reported that a United Nations passenger
aeroplane was shot at on its approach to Sarajevo and a bullet
went through the cockpit and almost hit the navigator. *1296
Although there had been no major fighting in almost a
week, snipers retained their grip on intersections, small arms
fire erupted without warning and mortar bombs sporadically hit
the outskirts of the Old Town. *1297
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
14. 14/10/92 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR, in their daily survey,
said that 11 rounds of large artillery were fired onto Serbian-
controlled areas around Sarajevo and 41 rounds reached BiH-
controlled areas during the 24 hour period that ended at 5:00
p.m. Wednesday. *1300
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
No reported incidents.
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
15. 15/10/92 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported that 35 rounds
of large artillery were observed falling onto Serbian-controlled
areas around Sarajevo and three rounds were seen reaching BiH-
controlled territory during the 24 hour period that ended at 5:00
p.m. Thursday. These were reportedly the lowest numbers in the
six-month siege. UNPROFOR also reported that despite almost
daily clashes, the front lines in Sarajevo had not significantly
changed in three months. *1303
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
BiH forces barricaded the airport access road in
violation of an agreement with UN peace-keeping forces, totally
halting UN humanitarian aid deliveries in what was described as a
defensive action to block a planned Serbian offensive. *1304
16. 16/10/92 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR's daily survey stated
that a total of 14 rounds of large artillery were observed
falling onto Serbian-controlled areas around Sarajevo and 24
rounds were seen reaching BiH-controlled territory during the 24
hour period that ended at 5:00 p.m. Friday. *1305
Source(s):
United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Area near UN peacekeepers trying to restore
electrical power and resume humanitarian aid deliveries.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
UN Peacekeepers tried to restore electrical power and
resume humanitarian aid deliveries to the city but were forced to
back down after separate teams were confronted by a rocket-toting
soldier, shot at by a gunman, and encountered tank-fire. *1306
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
17. 17/10/92 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR officials, in their daily
survey, said that 70 rounds of large artillery were observed
falling onto Serbian-controlled areas in Sarajevo and 65 rounds
were observed reaching BiH-controlled territory during the 24
hour period that ended at 5:00 p.m. Saturday. *1313
Source(s):
United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Apartment buildings in the north of Sarajevo.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Sarajevo faced sporadic sniper fire throughout
the day.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
BiH forces ended a three-day standoff and accepted a UN
plan to remove a blockade of the city's main airport access road
in exchange for UN peacekeepers installing a retractable
barricade to hold back Serbian
tanks. *1314
Sarajevo faced sporadic grenade and sniper fire
throughout the day, some of which hit apartment buildings in the
north, as battles continued on the ground between BiH and Serbian
forces along the western part of the
city. *1315
(c) International reported events
18. 18/10/92 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- A daylong aggression was reported
which included a fierce three hour artillery duel in Sarajevo and
in the Hrasno area.
Source(s): New York Times; Reuters.
- Targets Hit :
- The city flour mill; the area near a water tanker
truck; the French Hospital (four shells); the suburb of Hrasno,
as well as the city centre and other outlying districts (during
the morning and afternoon); the Sarajevo public transportation
network at its main location and others throughout the city.
Source(s): Helsinki Watch, New York Times; Reuters; the
Government of BiH.
- Description of Damage :
- A huge yellow cloud burst from the city
flour mill after it was struck by Serbian shellfire. Officials
said that essential machinery and a number of silos had been
destroyed; a middle-aged woman was killed by a mortar fragment as
she went to get water from a tanker truck; another report stated
that during a three-hour artillery duel, 150 people were taken to
city hospitals during the morning and afternoon (11 died on
arrival and six died later. Most of the shells, fired from the
Serb-held Grbavica area, fell on the southern suburb of Hrasno,
with the city centre and other outlying districts also hit.
Source(s): Helsinki Watch, New York Times; Reuters; the
Government of BiH.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Twenty people were reported killed and more than 130
hurt, including at least a dozen whose arms and legs had to be
amputated as a result of wounds from exploding shells. The dead
included a middle-aged woman hit by a mortar fragment as she went
to get water from a tanker truck, and a 10 year-old boy who was
hit while outside playing with friends. French Hospital officials
said that all but two of the 56 casualties brought in were
civilians; during a three-hour artillery duel, 150 people were
taken to city hospitals during the morning and afternoon (11 died
on arrival and six died later. Most of the shells, fired from the
Serb-held Grbavica area, fell on the southern suburb of Hrasno,
with the city centre and other outlying districts also hit.
Source(s): New York Times; Reuters.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Serbian forces attacked the Sarajevo flour mill,
reportedly leaving only enough flour for bread and pasta supplies
for 36 hours. A huge yellow cloud--presumably grain and flour--
burst from the mill after Serbian tank, anti-aircraft and
artillery guns opened fire at targets across the city. Officials
at the mill said that essential machinery and a number of silos
had been destroyed. This was seen as a major blow to the city
where many of the residents had survived for months on a diet
consisting mostly of bread and pasta. *1317
The attack was part of a daylong aggression in which at
least 20 people were reported killed and more than 130 hurt,
including at least a dozen whose arms and legs had to be
amputated as a result of wounds from exploding shells. The dead
included a middle-aged woman hit by a mortar fragment as she went
to get water from a tanker truck, and a 10 year-old boy who was
hit while outside playing with friends. Four tank shells hit the
French Hospital in the city centre (renamed recently in
recognition of French medical supplies that had sustained the
hospital through the siege). Hospital officials said that all
but two of the 56 casualties brought in were civilians. *1318
A fierce, three-hour artillery duel in Sarajevo flooded
hospitals with casualties. Doctors said almost 150 people were
taken into the city's hospitals during the morning and afternoon.
Eleven of them died on arrival, six died later. Most of the
shells, fired from the Serb-held Grbavica area, fell on the
southern suburb of Hrasno. But the city centre and other
outlying districts were also hit. *1319
The Sarajevo public transportation network was shelled
at its main location and at others throughout the city, according
to a report from the Government of BiH. *1320 The report stated
that seven workers had been killed, and 25 wounded in shelling of
the public transportation network since the beginning of
hostilities in April 1992. It also stated that its buildings,
and complete transportation infrastructure have been either
damaged or destroyed along with 362 vehicles (83% of its
transportation capacity). The extent of damage to the public
transportation network was estimated at $58,542,000 US, and to
the city's roads at $25,240,017 US. *1321
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
19. 19/10/92 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR officials, in their daily
survey said that during the 24 hour period ending at 5:00 p.m.
Monday, 57 rounds of heavy artillery fire fell onto BiH-
controlled areas around Sarajevo, compared to 23 rounds reaching
Serbian controlled areas. *1325
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Targets Hit :
- Electricity and water transmission facilities;
unspecified parts of Sarajevo.
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Description of Damage :
- Electricity and water service went off
after 11:44 a.m. after hits on transmission facilities; dozens of
people were injured from shelling in the city.
Source(s): United
Press International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Serbian gunners shelled Sarajevo with artillery fire
that wounded dozens of people. Doctors at the Kosevo hospital
complex treated at least 34 injured (22 civilians and 12
combatants). One patient died. *1326
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo had electricity and water from 8:46 p.m.
Sunday until 11:44 Monday. These utilities were cut when
transmission facilities were hit. *1327
Serbian gunners shelled Sarajevo with artillery fire
that wounded dozens of people. Doctors at the Kosevo hospital
complex treated at least 34 injured (22 civilians and 12
combatants). One patient died. *1328
(b) International reported events
20. 20/10/92 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Not specified
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
Narrative of Event:
At approximately 4:30 p.m., a small group of Serbian
soldiers guarding Sarajevo's main airport road stopped two UN
marked armoured personnel carriers and detained the city's top UN
military officer for 10 minutes before allowing him to pass. At
least 10 other UN vehicles also reported being stopped in a
similar manner but were allowed to pass after showing
identification through their windows. *1332
The main land route into Sarajevo was closed after
shelling in
Mostar. *1333
(b) International reported events
21. 21/10/92 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR officials in their daily
survey, said that 15 rounds of large artillery fire were observed
falling onto Serbian-controlled territory around Sarajevo, and 33
rounds were seen reaching BiH-controlled territory during the 24
hour period ending at 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday. *1335
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- A French UNPROFOR soldier was shot and wounded
by a sniper firing from BiH-controlled territory while escorting
aid deliveries.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Casualties :
- A French UNPROFOR soldier was wounded by sniper fire.
In the 24 hour period ending at 10:00 a.m. three people were
killed and 43 others were injured in Sarajevo. *1336
Source(s):
United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
A French UNPROFOR soldier was shot and wounded by a
sniper firing from BiH-controlled territory while the soldier was
escorting aid deliveries in a Serbian-controlled section of
Sarajevo. *1337
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
22. 22/10/92 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Fighting was reported in the area
near the airport runway.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- In the 24 hour period ending at 10:00 a.m. Thursday,
21 people were killed and 38 others were injured in Sarajevo.
*1341
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
In the 24 hour period ending at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, 21
people were killed and 38 others were injured in Sarajevo. *1342
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
23. 23/10/92 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported that in the 24
hour period that ended at 5:00 p.m. Friday, 68 rounds of heavy
artillery fell on BiH-controlled territory around Sarajevo and
zero rounds reached Serbian-controlled territory. *1345
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Area close to the Lion cemetery; the Kosevo Hospital
(two mortar shells); the Souk Bunar residential district of the
Old Town.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- In the 24 hour period ending at 10:00 a.m. Friday,
three people were killed and 40 others were wounded in Sarajevo.
*1346
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
A mortar round landed close to the Lion cemetery, which
has been targeted by the Serbs while funerals were in progress.
The Kosevo Hospital nearby was hit with two mortar shells at the
same time and another hit the Souk Bunar residential district of
the Old Town. *1347
(b) Local reported events
Repair crews drawn from both sides in the Sarajevo
siege worked together to restore electrical power to 70% of the
city and running water to a still wider area. The repairs, which
had begun three weeks earlier, started to bring electricity and
water back to the city sporadically and in widely scattered areas
in the previous week. But in the past 48 hours, as major
transmission lines damaged in the fighting had been repaired,
utilities denied to hospitals, private homes and many other
places for weeks (and in some cases months) had been restored.
*1348
A mixed military working group met for the first time
with all three parties participating, chaired by General Morillon
in Sarajevo. *1349
24. 24/10/92 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported that in the 24
hour period that ended at 5:00 p.m. Saturday, 53 rounds of heavy
artillery fell on BiH-controlled territory around Sarajevo and
zero rounds reached Serbian-controlled territory.
Source(s):
United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Sarajevo throughout the night; the area to the west
of UN troop headquarters; Stup; two unidentified western suburbs;
Dobrinja; the Old Town area.
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- A French UNPROFOR soldier guarding a delivery
of humanitarian aid.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Casualties :
- In the 24 hour period that ended at 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, six people were killed and 42 others were wounded in
Sarajevo. *1350
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
A French UNPROFOR soldier was shot while guarding a
delivery of humanitarian aid. The soldier, who suffered only a
minor leg wound, was hit by sniper fire only three days after a
similar attack on a French soldier who was also escorting aid
deliveries. *1351
Gunfire and mortar rounds hit Sarajevo throughout the
night and into Saturday, just hours after the first face-to-face
meeting between the military leaders of BiH's warring factions.
Heavy machine-guns and mortars fell to the west of UN troop
headquarters. There also appeared to be a renewed attack on
Croat-held Stup. Two other western suburbs came under fire from
Serb forces apparently trying to link up with units to the north
of the city. There was sporadic fighting in the western suburb
of Hrasno throughout the night and police reported machine-gun
and anti-aircraft fire in Dobrinja, near the airport. Sporadic
anti-aircraft cannon fire was also reported in Sarajevo's Old
Town as well as machine-gun fire near parliament in the city
centre. *1352
(b) Local reported events
25. 25/10/92 (Sunday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR counted 148 rounds of
large artillery falling onto BiH-controlled territory around
Sarajevo during the 24 hour period that ended at 5:00 p.m. Sunday
and 41 rounds reaching Serbian-controlled territory. *1354
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Hrasno area (before dawn); the Old Town area (before
dawn); Dobrinja; the UN checkpoint on the main access road to
Sarajevo airport (10 rounds).
Source(s): Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- In the 24 hour period that ended at 10:00 a.m.
Sunday, two people were killed and 27 others were injured in
Sarajevo. *1355
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo remained relatively quiet overnight although
sporadic machine-gun and anti-aircraft cannon fire could be heard
from the southern Hrasno neighbourhood just before dawn. Sarajevo
radio reported more of the same in the Old Town. Dobrinja was
reportedly hit by incoming tank fire. *1356
Approximately 10 rounds of artillery fell at 11:45 a.m.
near the UN checkpoint on the main access road to Sarajevo
airport, prompting UNPROFOR troops to retreat from the area for
about 15 minutes. *1357
(b) Local reported events
26. 26/10/92 (Monday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported that a total of
43 heavy artillery rounds hit BiH-controlled areas around
Sarajevo and seven hit Serbian controlled areas in the 24 hour
period ending at 5:00 p.m.
Monday. *1359
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- The Dobrinja apartment complex near the airport
(morning); Stup (midday); a district near the UN headquarters.
Source(s): United Press International; Reuters.
- Description of Damage :
- At least five people were wounded by a
single mortar round in Dobrinja in the morning.
Source(s): United
Press International; Reuters.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- At least five people were wounded by a single mortar
round in Dobrinja in the morning. In the 24 hour period that
ended at 10:00 a.m. Monday, four people were killed in Sarajevo
and 47 others were wounded. *1360
Source(s): Reuters; United
Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo was relatively quiet overnight. However,
Serbian forces in the hills unleashed a loud artillery barrage on
the Dobrinja apartment complex near the airport in the morning.
*1361
Heavy shelling rocked Sarajevo's western suburb of Stup
around midday and mortar rounds fell on a district near the UN
headquarters in the city, wounding five. The western suburb of
Dobrinja was also a target for heavy fire during the morning. At
least five people were wounded by a single mortar round, four of
them seriously. *1362
(b) Local reported events
27. 27/10/92 (Tuesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- The day was quiet in Sarajevo
until 2:30 p.m. when a heavy barrage of artillery fire began
falling in various sections of the city.
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Targets Hit :
- Unidentified areas of the city.
Source(s): United
Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- One person was killed and three were injured by
sniper fire on the front line in Pero Kosoric Square.
Source(s):
United Press International.
- Casualties :
- At least six people were killed and 25 wounded in
Sarajevo. One person was killed and three were injured by sniper
fire on the front line in Pero Kosoric Square. *1366
Source(s):
United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
The day was quiet in Sarajevo until 2:30 p.m. when a
heavy barrage of artillery fire began falling in various sections
of the city. At least six people were killed and 25 wounded. One
person was killed and three were injured by sniper fire in the
front line Pero Kosoric Square. *1367
28. 28/10/92 (Wednesday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported that during the
24 hour period that ended at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, 56 rounds of
heavy artillery reached BiH-controlled territory and 12 rounds
reached Serbian-controlled
territory. *1368
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- In the 24 hour period that ended at 10:00 a.m.,
seven people were killed in Sarajevo and 60 others were wounded.
*1369
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo was relatively calm after moderately heavy
Serbian artillery and infantry attacks Tuesday. *1370
(b) Local reported events
(c) International reported events
New constitutional proposals for BiH were released (the
Vance-Owen Plan). The Serbian press reported that Bosnian Serb
leader Radovan Karadzic said that the proposed constitution
essentially boiled down to the proposal of BiH President
Izetbegovic, and that he would study in depth to see if he could
use anything from it in further work. *1372
29. 29/10/92 (Thursday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Sarajevo was hit with what was
described as the worst shelling in two weeks with dozens of
rounds falling on the old centre of the city. BiH forces
reportedly turned back a tank and infantry attack close to the
city centre.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- The Old Town area; the city centre; an unidentified
apartment complex and cemetery.
Source(s): United Press
International.
- Description of Damage :
- Dozens of shell rounds fell on the old
centre of the city.
Source(s): United Press International.
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- In the 24 hour period that ended at 10:00 a.m.
Thursday, six people were killed and 33 others were injured in
Sarajevo. *1373
Source(s): United Press International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
Sarajevo was hit with the worst shelling in two weeks,
with dozens of rounds falling on the old centre of the city.
Serb gunners in the surrounding hills began shelling the centre
of the city in the morning, and tanks joined in the bombardment
shortly before noon. An apartment complex and a cemetery were
among the targets. BiH defenders turned back a tank and infantry
attack close to the centre of the city. *1374
(b) Local reported events
30. 30/10/92 (Friday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- Not specified
- Targets Hit :
- Not specified
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Not specified
- Narrative of Events :
-
No incidents reported.
31. 31/10/92 (Saturday)
(a) Military activity
- Combat and Shelling Activity :
- UNPROFOR reported that 433 mortar
shells, 211 artillery rounds, and eight tank shells landed inside
Sarajevo's defensive perimeter and that BiH forces responded with
75 mortar rounds and 22 artillery shells. *1376
Source(s): United
Press International.
- Targets Hit :
- The Presidency building; the area near the Kosevo
Hospital; residential districts on either side of the Miljacka
river; the Old Town; UNPROFOR barracks housing the Egyptian
battalion.
Source(s): UNPROFOR; United Press International.
- Description of Damage :
- Not specified
- Sniping Activity :
- Not specified
- Casualties :
- Reporters who toured city hospitals counted at least
14 dead and 120 wounded. *1377 Thirty-one people were reported
dead and 118 wounded in the 24 hour period that ended at 5:00
p.m. Saturday. *1378
Source(s): Reuters; United Press
International.
- Narrative of Events :
-
UNPROFOR reported that a cease-fire was shattered
between 11:15 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., when the SARAJEVO CORPS shelled
the Presidency building and followed with heavy infantry and
armoured attacks from the south. *1379
Serbian heavy artillery began falling on Sarajevo
around 10:40 a.m. Witnesses said shells exploded near Sarajevo's
Kosevo Hospital. Shells fell into residential districts on
either side of the Miljacka river in the afternoon. *1380
The fighting, which had calmed down by afternoon, was
heaviest in the districts of Hrasno and Grbavica west of the
centre and around the burned-out Parliament building. Mortars
also fell in the Old Town where people had crowded the streets on
this unusually warm fall day. Reporters who toured city
hospitals counted at least 14 dead and 120 wounded. *1381
Barracks occupied by the Egyptian battalion serving
with UNPROFOR in Sarajevo were hit as were the offices of the BiH
Presidency. *1382
(b) Local reported events
In a speech before the Assembly of the Serbian
Republic, Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic stated that the Serbian
side found the concepts of common currency and army called for in
the Vance-Owen Plan unacceptable and the criteria for the
constitution of the provinces as proposed in the document was
equally unacceptable. Nevertheless, he stressed that the document
should not be entirely rejected, as it contained some positive
things, (which he did not identify). Karadzic said that he
supported continuation of the negotiations, but that the bottom
line for Serbs was BiH as a confederation of three ethnic groups.
*1383
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