VRBANJA BRIDGE

Dating from the 1970s, this 42 m long concrete bridge (Most Vrbanja) is installed in the former district of Vrbanja. It connects the center of national political power (Council of Ministers, House of Representatives...), on the right bank of the Miljacka, to the former Bosnian-Serb district of Grbavica. During the last war, it was the scene of three bloody episodes. On April 5, 1992, two of the first victims of the siege, Bosnian Suada Dilberović and Bosnian-Croat Olga Sučić, were killed here while participating in a peace demonstration. In 1999, the structure was renamed "Suada and Olga Bridge" (Most Suade i Olge) and bears a plaque in their memory. On May 19, 1993, a couple trying to cross the bridge fell to Bosnian-Serb snipers: Bosnian Admira Ismić and Bosnian-Serb Boško Brkić. Their death, filmed by a television crew, inspired the documentary and the play Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo. Finally, the French army fought the "Battle of the Vrbanja Bridge" here on May 27, 1995. After the capture of a blue helmet post by Bosnian-Serb forces, President Jacques Chirac ordered the recapture of the bridge, exceeding the UN mandate. A section of the^3rd Marine Infantry Regiment commanded by Captain François Lecointre (later General and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces from 2017 to 2021) launched an assault on the bridge that resulted in the recapture of the position and the death of two marines and four Bosnian Serb militiamen.