Sarajevo marks 20 years since Bosnian war

People in Sarajevo on Friday marked the 20th anniversary of the start of the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. They did so by arranging more than 11,000 red chairs to honor the victims of the conflict the women and children killed in a siege that ended up being the longest of a city in modern history.

Three ethnic groups  comprising Muslims, Serbs and Croats  fought over independence from the former state of Yugoslavia until 1995. The war left about 200,000 people dead, making it the worst ethnic conflict in Europe after World War Two.11,541 chairs, including small ones for children, were set up along a length of over 800 meters in the heart of the capital.Many people, plus foreigners, prayed for the victims, few placing white roses on the chairs.Many just walked and sobbed, overwhelmed by the length of the red river of empty chairs."This city needs to stop for a moment and pay tribute to its killed citizens," said Haris Pasovic, organizer of the "Sarajevo Red Line."  Sarajevo  380,000 natives were left without food, electricity, water or heating for 46 months, shielding from the 330 shells smashed a day into the city.

During the war, Sarajevo was under siege for more than 3 and a half years by Serbs who were backed by the Yugoslavian government. Sarajevo city became the epicenter of intense artillery and sniper attacks.Since the end of the war, Bosnia-Herzegovina has been highly-decentralized to reduce ethnic tensions. Each ethnic group now has its own government and president.Media agencies