Day 27 –Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina to Sarajevo, B&H – 88 mi.

Our destination city is Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia & Herzegovina. In 2005 the city was invited to be part of the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities. Many of us old enough, remember Sarajevo as the site of the 1984 Winter Olympics.

“The Siege of Sarajevo was the longest siege in the history of modern warfare. It lasted from April 5, 1992 to February 29, 1996. It was fought during the Bosnian War between the forces of the Bosnian government, who had declared independence from Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Bosnian Serb forces (VRS), who sought to destroy the newly-independent state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and create the Serbian state of Republika Srpska (RS). It is estimated that more than 12,000 people were killed and 50,000 wounded during the siege, 85% of them civilians. Because of killing and forced migration, the population decreased in 1995 to 334.663, which means 64% of the prewar population.”