Families and authorities gathered on Tuesday to honour 1,601 children who were killed during the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s.

On behalf of the city, Mayor Abdulah Skaka laid wreaths at the Memorial to the Murdered Children of Besieged Sarajevo, saying that this site is witnessing an “irrational attempt to murder the spirit of the city that has been since its establishing devoted to coexistence.”

“The murder of the children of besieged Sarajevo is an unforgettable and incurable wound on Sarajevo’s heart. It is our moral duty and obligation to recall of this painful memory by teaching the new generations about the meaning of the culture of memory. We must not and will not allow that what happened to Sarajevo happens ever again,” the mayor said.

Since May 5, 2019, the date is being marked as the Day of the Memory of the Murdered Children of Sarajevo, the Sarajevo Canton Government decided last year.

The commemoration was also attended by Bosnia Presidency member Zeljko Komsic and cantonal officials.