Balkans | Esma Aljokic, who lost his leg in the Sarajevo bazaar massacre, cannot forget “that moment”.

Esma Aljokic, who lost his leg in the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) attack in Sarajevo at the “Markale” market in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said he has had health problems since that day and constantly prays for the war. Will not be repeated.

72-year-old Aljukic, who went to the “Markale” market in Sarajevo on February 5, 1994 to exchange his products and struggled for life with a prosthetic leg after the explosion that day, told AA what he went through 29 years ago.

Al-Jokic stated that he lost his wife 6 years ago and lives alone, and said that he left his two sons, who were at the time 8 and 9 years old, in their house near the market and went to the market. Aljokić said, “There was a ‘painful’ silence on February 5, 1994. No shots could be heard. So I left the house to go to the market and exchange the produce I had and buy something to eat for my children. My husband was in the lead at this time.” He said.

Explaining that the market is very crowded and the silence in the air is frightening, Aljokic said, “Suddenly, I heard a sound similar to the sound of two trays crashing into each other. I suddenly found myself in the middle of the market. The mortar fell behind me. I still don’t understand how that explosion didn’t kill me.” He said.

“Take me to the hospital right away.”

Aljokic confirmed that he heard screams and groans while lying on the ground:

I didn’t know I was infected. I tried to stand up and suddenly I saw my left foot was shaking. I grabbed a table in the market, and tried to stand up, but it didn’t work. I saw my neighbor and said: I am a wounded Muharram. He asked if I could stand up, and I said I could. I said: Take me to the hospital immediately, but at that moment there was no car to take us.

Aljokic stated that he only had two children at home, and that he was aware of them, adding: “(Muharram) took me and said my shoes were full of blood. He found a car and took me to the hospital in Kosovo. There were many wounded and dead, but our doctors were trying to catch up with everyone.” When the doctor saw my feet, he referred me to the French Hospital in Niedzarecci.” He said.

Pointing out that the doctors at the second hospital he went to said he had to amputate his leg, otherwise there was a possibility of poisoning, Aljokić said that since there was no one to take care of his children, he preferred to “continue life without legs rather than die.”

“I must live for my children and grandchildren.”

Al-Jokic indicated that he suffered from blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease after the market massacre, and said: “My life has no value, but I have to live for my children and grandchildren.” Use phrases.

Al-Jokic indicated that he uses two prostheses, and confirmed that health problems appeared in his waist and right leg due to the crutches he was using.

Aljukic stated that he was constantly praying that the war would not be repeated.

There were two massacres in the market

Serbian forces carried out their first mortar attack on the market in Markale on February 5, 1994, after they surrounded the capital, Sarajevo, during the war. This attack killed 68 people and injured 144 others. In the August 28, 1995 attack, 43 civilians were killed and 84 wounded.

While the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague established with evidence that Serb forces carried out the attacks on the market, the Bosnian Serb commander Dragomir Milošević, responsible for the massacre, was sentenced to 29 years in prison. in prison.

Stanislav Galic, the former Serbian commander who was tried in The Hague for the siege of Sarajevo and crimes against humanity committed during the siege, was also sentenced to life in prison.

While Sarajevo was under siege for 44 months, 11,541 civilians, including nearly 2,000 children, lost their lives in the city.

AA