Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ganda. In October of 1991, Bosnia-Herzegovina—following Croatia's and Slovenia's ex-
ample,butwithouttheblessingofitslargeSerbminority—beganaprocessofsplittingfrom
Yugoslavia. Soon after, the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People's Army invaded. Mostar's
Bosniaks and Croats joined forces to battle the Serbs and succeeded in claiming the city as
their own, forcing out the Serb residents.
But even as they fended off the final, distant bombardments of Serb forces, Mostar's
Bosniaks(Muslims)andCroats(Catholics)begantosquabble.Neighbors,friends,andeven
relatives took up arms against each other. As fighting raged between the Croat and Bosniak
forces, this street became the front line—and virtually all of its buildings were destroyed.
Then as now, the area to the east of here (toward the river) was held by Bosniaks, while the
western part of town was Croat territory.
While many of the buildings along here have been rebuilt, some damage is still evident.
Stroll a bit, imagining the hell of a split community at war. Mortar craters in the asphalt
leave poignant scars. During those dark war years, the Croats on the hill above laid siege to
the Bosniaks on the other side, cutting off electricity, blocking roads, and blaring Croatian
rabble-rousing pop music and Tokyo Rose-type propaganda speeches from loudspeakers.
