The strike on Markale market on February 5, 1994 in downtown Sarajevo that left 67 dead and more than 140 wounded has long been considered the worst attack during the multi-year siege of the capital by Bosnian Serb forces.

Attendees laid wreaths and flowers at the foot of a white stone monument -- the site of the explosion -- during the ceremony.

"I had the impression that all of Sarajevo was there, at the market, that day. It was a beautiful, sunny day, like today. There were even women with children in strollers," Vahida Tvico, 72, told AFP.

The scenes of relative normality, however, quickly turned violent after shells from a Serb hill-top position crashed down on the market.

"The crowd was mowed down. I saw a lot of blood, dead people everywhere, others fleeing, screaming. It was chaos. Those who survived will never be able to remove this image from their heads," Tvico added, saying that both her husband and son were killed during the war in other incidents.

Fazila Smajovic, who was among the hundreds who came to pay respects at Markale, said her sister Hasija was among those killed.

"We were waiting for her to come home, then we went to pick her up from the market, and we ended up at the hospital where she died," Smajovic told AFP.

More than a year later, a second strike near the market killed dozens more.

It was this attack that triggered the NATO bombing campaign against Bosnian Serb military targets that was crucial in bringing an end to the war.

During the 44 months of the siege of Sarajevo, more than 11,000 people were killed in the capital, including several hundred children.

Nearly 100,000 people were killed during the war across Bosnia and two million displaced.