During the 1,425 days of the Sarajevo siege, citizens suffered almost daily shelling and sniper fire. Civilians of all ages were killed, including children; in lines for water and food, on the street, in the schoolyard, while sledding. The first mass crime in which children were killed occurred in the Velešići neighborhood on May 16, 1992, when members of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of the VRS fired three shells. One of them pierced the concrete wall of a house and killed six members of the Bibić-Mekić family on the ground floor, including two children. Amar Bibić (1991), a baby who was not even a year old, and his mother Biba, three-and-a-half-year-old Damir Mekić (1988), his mother Munira, and Disija and Fehma Bibić.
In addition to marking the anniversary of this tragedy, on this day we also remember the fallen members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Edin Krako, Miralem Miradžija and Muris Đelkić, who invested their lives in the defense of Sarajevo – as heroes of the famous Battle of Pofalić.
The aggressor’s plan (the JNA aggressor forces and SDS units) was to cut through the city via Novo Sarajevo, connecting the Žuč – Pofalići line with the Marshal Tito barracks (where the remains of the former JNA were still located) and with occupied Grbavica, which is only 500 meters away from the barracks. In the early morning of May 16, 1992, an hour before the aggressor was to take action, the defenders from the ranks of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated the enemy and prevented a complete blockade of Sarajevo.
It was a battle codenamed “Thunder” and involved the Pofalići and Velešići detachments, parts of the First Sarajevo Detachment, a group of fighters from Buća Potok, special units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a unit of the Military Police and smaller groups of fighters from other parts of Sarajevo.
In this way, they created the preconditions for the further defense not only of the city of Sarajevo but also of BiH.
The day of the Battle of Pofalići, as a very important date in the culture of memory, is also celebrated as the Day of the Municipality of Novo Sarajevo. On this occasion, on May 16, martyrs and fallen soldiers will be honored and flowers will be laid at the memorial in Pofalići (Dom Hum). The official program also includes a parade through Wilson’s Promenade and an evening concert. The central event “Battle of Pofalići” starts at 16:30 at the Sports Playground in Pofalićka Street, and the ceremonial session of the Municipal Council is planned at the International Center for Children and Youth at 18:00.
