The grave of Admira Ismić and Boško Brkić at the Lav cemetery in Sarajevo.
Synopsis
The 1992–96 Siege of Sarajevo by the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) caused drastic deterioration in living conditions for its inhabitants. In 1993, Bosniak Admira Ismić and Bosnian Serb Boško Brkić, a couple with connections across different ethnic groups, decided to escape the conflict. On 19 May 1993, the pair attempted to cross Vrbanja Bridge, part of Sniper Alley, hoping for a safe passage due to an alleged informal agreement that no one would fire during their crossing.
Accounts differ regarding the exact sequence of events. According to some sources, the couple approached the bridge at 17:00, when Boško was shot first, dying instantly. Admira, although wounded, managed to crawl to him, embrace him, and died moments later.
The two bodies remained in no man’s land for several days, with Serb and Bosnian forces arguing over responsibility for their deaths and recovery. After eight days, Serb forces retrieved the bodies using Bosnian POWs, and the couple was later buried together in Lion Cemetery.
Kuniomi Asai, a war correspondent who accompanied soldiers at the front lines, recalls events differently. He reported that Sarajevo's Bosnian government initially restricted access to the front for foreign journalists. However, through his connections, Asai joined a platoon heading to the front and encountered photographer Mark Milstein, a stringer for Reuters, who pleaded to accompany them, desperate to capture compelling images.
Upon reaching a building overlooking the bridge, Asai claims they saw the bodies of the young couple, appearing as if the man had been shot first, and the woman had collapsed while trying to help him. Local soldiers identified the snipers as Serbian forces and described the couple as high school sweethearts attempting to escape the war.
Milstein’s photographs of the tragic scene were widely circulated by international media and used in Kurt Schork’s article, which turned the couple into a symbol of the senseless violence during the siege.
Reflecting on the media’s influence, Asai expressed frustration with the Japanese news agency’s delayed interest in the footage he had captured, noting that they only pursued the story after it gained traction in Western media outlets.
To this day, the identities of the snipers remain unconfirmed, as no formal investigation was conducted. The deaths of Boško and Admira continue to symbolize the devastating human impact of the Bosnian War, remembered both as an emblem of love transcending conflict and as a tragic outcome of war.
Bill Madden – Bosko and Admira, from the 2008 album Child of the Same God
Kurt Schork - The original dispatch by Kurt Schork, whose ashes are interred next to Bosko and Admira, telling the moving story of Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo.
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