Key Facts
- First siege duration
- April 1992 – June 1992
- Second siege duration
- June 1993 – April 1994
- Residents displaced (first siege)
- ~90,000
- Mosques damaged or destroyed
- 10
- Notable destruction
- Stari Most (Old Bridge) blown up, 1993
Strategic Narrative Overview
The first siege lasted from April to June 1992, ending after Operation Jackal, a joint Croatian Army and HVO offensive expelled JNA forces. However, as the wider Bosnian War evolved, former allies HVO and ARBiH turned against each other in the Croat–Bosniak War. From June 1993, HVO forces besieged Bosniak-held East Mostar, cutting off humanitarian aid, killing numerous civilians, destroying ten mosques, and demolishing the historic Stari Most bridge in November 1993.
01 / The Origins
Following Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1992, the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) moved to assert control over Mostar. The Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) initially allied to resist the JNA, reflecting the broader international recognition of Bosnian independence and the collapsing Yugoslav federal structure that drew multiple armed factions into conflict across the region.
03 / The Outcome
The second siege ended with the Washington Agreement signed in March 1994, which halted Croat–Bosniak hostilities and established a Croat–Bosniak federation. The city had suffered severe damage to its cultural and religious heritage, and tens of thousands of residents had been displaced. The destruction of Stari Most, a 16th-century Ottoman bridge, became one of the most internationally condemned acts of cultural destruction in the Bosnian War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Side B
3 belligerents
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.