When the idea of ??building a tunnel under the runway of Sarajevo airport was born, in order to connect the besieged Sarajevo with the rest of Bosnian territory, it seemed to be a very strange idea to many people. However, these were times when everything was more than strange. The city found itself by the end of the 20th century in the classic medieval siege. In military theory is just for that period, namely the early Medieval Ages, characteristic the emergence of the tunnels as fortified buildings. Often during this period the tunnel was considered to be the decisive factor in the achievement of war aims. Also in the recent history of warfare we encounter tunnels that were dug for different purposes. The tunnels have been used in the First and Second World War. And today, on the British island of Jersey, there is a whole underground complex known as "the Jersey War Tunnels" and similar complex you can visit in Gibraltar.
The tunnels were used by the Vietnamese, a similar model of underground communication is used by some armed groups in the Middle East. The tunnels have played a particularly important role in Beirut. Palestinians have their own tunnels in Gaza that connect them with Egypt. Especially interesting were the tunnels that were dug during the Cold War in Berlin. It is assumed that under the Berlin today there are about 30 tunnels that were used to escape from East to West Berlin, and that a dozen of them served the purpose. In addition to ordinary people in Berlin spies were also digging tunnels and the most famous tunnel of this kind was the American-British project worth about $ 30 million, which was supposed to link a US radar to the Soviet telephone lines. By the end of the works the Soviets discovered it.
Unlike all listed, the Sarajevo tunnel, from the idea to realization and primarily by function, was in many ways a unique facility of its kind in the world. That dug hole in the ground, approximately 800 meters long, with an average height of 1.6 meters and a width of 1 meter, reminded about everything else but the tunnel, but due its importance to the city and the country it became bigger than the La Manche itself. A breath of freedom is reached through a tunnel to the city that was choking and was enough to give people new strength for survival in the years of war that will follow. Because of the military, political, psychological significance and importance for the supply of the city that it had, it was the top kept secret - "a tunnel which is not, e.g. which does not exist".