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How did artillery shelling and sniper attacks affect civilians in Sarajevo?

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Bosnian conflict: destruction in Sarajevo — Bosnian War Buildings and vehicles destroyed in Grbavica, a suburb of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian conflict (1992–95).

During the Siege of Sarajevo, which lasted from 1992 to 1996, Bosnian Serb forces utilized artillery and snipers to systematically terrorize the civilian population.

Artillery shelling was constant, with an average of more than 300 shells striking the city daily. These attacks deliberately targeted essential infrastructure, including homes, schools, and hospitals, resulting in damage to nearly every building in the city. The violence was indiscriminate, as evidenced by devastating attacks on the Markale Market, which caused significant casualties among civilians.

Simultaneously, snipers created an environment where no area of the city was considered safe, forcing residents to live in constant fear. This military strategy, combined with a total blockade that denied the city food, power, and water, led to severe malnutrition and death, particularly among the elderly who perished in unheated homes during the winter. In total, the siege resulted in the deaths of approximately 11,540 people, including at least 500 children, and stands as a grave example of the human cost of war crimes committed against noncombatants.1