--- title: Sulejman Mulaomerovic slug: sulejman-mulaomerovic-5b24d url: /detay/sulejman-mulaomerovic-5b24d type: biography language: English entity: primary: Sulejman Mulaomerovic type: biography categories: - name: General Knowledge slug: genel-kultur url: /kategori/genel-kultur - name: Intelligence, Security, and Defense slug: istihbarat-guvenlik-ve-askeri-calismalar url: /kategori/istihbarat-guvenlik-ve-askeri-calismalar - name: Biography And Autobiography slug: biyografi-ve-otobiyografi url: /kategori/biyografi-ve-otobiyografi tags: - SavasKameramani - SavasGazeteciligi - SaraybosnaKusatmasi - GorselHafiza - SavasMuhabirligi - BelgeselSinema - Savaş Kameramanı - Sulejman Mulaomerovic - İnsaniKriz - BalkanTarihi - bosnahersek - Tanıklık - Saraybosna Kuşatması - Yugoslavya author: Nursena Şahin created_at: 2026-06-21T15:52:39.017972+03:00 updated_at: 2026-06-21T15:52:39.017982+03:00 image: https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2026/05/29/9OaEVFq0DqpcFtp1lX02HVKkJuVjbBPg.jpg --- # Sulejman Mulaomerovic > Sulejman Mulaomerović is an award-winning Bosnian war correspondent and cameraman who brought the Siege of Sarajevo and the war in the Balkans to the world. ## KURE Information Cards ![thumbs_b_c_7e6230d743c9d790ba85c6d1825e1d4e.jpg](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2026/05/29/d9SuioQP9S3k08RxGlgzVQUEogl6bAui.jpg) *Sulejman Mulaomerovic* | Field | Value | |-------|-------| | Important Testimonies | Kosovo Events, Siege of Sarajevo, Markale Market Massacre, Defense of Mount Igman | | Nationality | Bosnia-Herzegovina | | Profession | Cameraman,War Correspondent | | Career Duration | 35+ Years | | Institution | Sarajevo Radio Television (FTV) | | Important Testimonies | Kosovo Events,Markale Market Massacre,Defense of Mount Igman,Siege of Sarajevo | | Award | Best War Cameraman Award | | Documentary | Beneath the Sky | | Historical Role | Witnessing the documentation of war crimes | ## Article Content **Sulejman Mulaomerović** is a senior war correspondent and cameraman from [Bosnia](/en/detay/bosna-hersek-2/llms.txt) who documented the entire [Siege of Sarajevo](/en/detay/kusatma-altinda-saraybosna-bir-gunun-hikayesi-e465/llms.txt), recognized as the longest siege in modern history, and brought the realities of the war to global public opinion through his footage. ### Career Beginnings and the Kosovo Events From [Sulejman Mulaomerović](/en/detay/sulejman-mulaomerovic-ca1be/llms.txt)’s professional perspective, the collapse of Yugoslavia began not in Bosnia but approximately two years earlier, in early 1990, during his assignment in [Kosovo](/en/detay/kosova-savaslari/llms.txt). In late January 1990, Mulaomerović, sent by Sarajevo Radio Television to the region, witnessed firsthand the rising social tensions following Slobodan Milošević’s administration’s revocation of Kosovo’s autonomy. On 1 February 1990, in the village of Donji Lupča near Priština, hundreds of Albanian protesters confronted Serbian police and military units; Mulaomerović, despite police warnings to “stop filming,” identified a strategic and safe position and began recording. ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2026/05/29/xl9TP4bjj7EJ62w1ysj1dj2ROdXBpXEb.jpg) *'Gazi' Bosnalı Savaş Muhabiri Mulaomerovic (Anadolu Ajansı)* When Serbian security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd, Mulaomerović, despite losing most of his vision due to the gas, kept his camera steady and continued recording. He meticulously documented the moment police opened direct fire with machine guns on the demonstrators, killing 16-year-old high school student Ylfette Humolli with a shot to the head. The footage of Humolli’s death and the clear images of the police vehicles firing became critical evidence. These recordings were transmitted via Priština Radio Television and simultaneously broadcast in other federal capitals including Sarajevo, Ljubljana, and Zagreb, and later disseminated to the international media. Following this incident, Mulaomerović was forced to flee Kosovo secretly via Macedonia. In later interviews, he stated that the actual war and large-scale destruction in the Balkans began not in Bosnia but on the day Ylfette Humolli was killed.[^1] ### The Siege of Sarajevo and Frontline Witnessing Between 1992 and 1995, Sulejman Mulaomerović became one of the few who brought the 1,425-day [longest siege in modern history](/en/detay/modern-tarihin-en-uzun-kusatmasi-saraybosna-kusatm/llms.txt) to the world through the lens of his camera. From the siege’s start on 5 April 1992, he continuously recorded barricades erected across the city and the ensuing systematic bombardments. Mulaomerović described [war correspondence](/en/detay/war-correspondence-14cc9,text:/llms.txt) not merely as bravery but as a kind of “madness,” and carried out his duties in the most dangerous combat zones.[^2] To pinpoint the origins of artillery attacks, he climbed strategic high points such as the Vratnik Gate at the city’s entrance. He documented the physical and cultural destruction of the city frame by frame, beginning with the first shell that struck the historic brewery. In particular, during the nine-month period in 1993 when the city was deprived of water and electricity, he recorded the humanitarian crisis and used visual evidence to refute Serbian forces’ disinformation campaigns and denials of their attacks. ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2026/05/29/zylaSPaei8ckda0elr5UZoOZeFYgXAMu.jpg) *Tarihe Tanıklık Dokümanları (Anadolu Ajansı)* Throughout his career, Mulaomerović was present at key events such as the [Markale market massacre](/en/detay/markale-pazar-yeri-katliami-77ce4/llms.txt) and the defense of Mount Igman. He described the scenes of dismembered bodies and bloodstains covered in dust as an “unutterable nightmare.”[^3] Yet his testimony was not confined to professional duty; he personally experienced the devastating impact of the war on his own family. Two of his five children were injured in the streets under siege. In April 1993, a shell struck the building where his family, relatives, and neighbors had taken shelter near the Academy of Arts, killing them all. This incident, which claimed the lives of six people including his daughter Elma and injured many others, transformed the war for Mulaomerović from a professional record into a daily personal ordeal: streets stained with blood and children targeted. Mulaomerović never put down his camera until the end of the war. He later compiled these historic recordings into the documentary film *Beneath the Sky*, preserving Sarajevo’s resistance and suffering as enduring collective memory.[^4] His work during the siege and his decisive role in informing the global public earned him the title of “Best War Cameraman.” His recordings became evidence in international courts and in global media, preventing the denial of events in Bosnia.[^5] ### Injuries and Health Struggles Sulejman Mulaomerović was directly targeted three times during his work as a war correspondent and cameraman, with his first injury occurring in June 1992. While traveling with his crew toward one of Sarajevo’s press centers, the Holiday Inn hotel, he was wounded by sniper fire aimed at their vehicle. First aid was administered at the hotel reception. Just months later, in November 1992, he was targeted again by snipers while recording the bodies of women killed in front of a high-rise building; he suffered gunshot wounds to his right hand and knee, severely impairing his ability to perform his professional duties. ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2026/05/29/PVRciS7rltab9JgdZi80r31XxD3SR40a.jpg) *'Gazi' Bosnalı Savaş Muhabiri Mulaomerovic (Anadolu Ajansı)* A turning point came for Mulaomerović in April 1993 while filming a Bosnian Army operation on Mount Igman. Severely wounded during this mission and with inadequate medical facilities on the front, he was urgently transferred to [siege-bound Gorazde](/en/detay/the-longest-siege-in-modern-history-the-siege-of-s/llms.txt), where surgeons from the “Doctors Without Borders” team performed a difficult operation. Despite medical experts declaring his chances of survival nonexistent due to the severity of his condition and high risk of death, he was transferred to Zenica for advanced diagnostics and intervention. After a series of surgeries and a prolonged treatment process, Mulaomerović survived and returned to his profession with unwavering determination.[^6] Even decades after the war ended, Mulaomerović continues to carry the physical scars of these attacks, particularly the loss of function in his right hand. He has treated this process as an act of social memory transmission. In his documentary *Beneath the Sky*, he combined footage of his own injuries, the surgeries he underwent, and raw recordings from the period to objectively document the lasting trauma the war inflicted on a journalist’s body. Viewing these permanent effects on his health as part of the collective suffering endured by the Bosnian people, the journalist identified his survival with the [resistance of Sarajevo](/en/detay/saraybosna-2/llms.txt) and regards continuing his testimony as a historical responsibility.[^7] ## Academic Sources and References 1. Anadolu Ajansı. "'Gazi' war correspondent recounts the Siege of Sarajevo." Accessed May 28, 2026. https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/gazi-savas-muhabiri-saraybosna-kusatmasini-anlatti/1110117 2. Haxhiaj, Serbeze. "‘That Day, The War Started’: Bosnian Cameraman’s Chilling Footage of Kosovo Killing." Balkan Insight. Accessed May 28, 2026. https://balkaninsight.com/2026/01/30/that-day-the-war-started-bosnian-cameramans-chilling-footage-of-kosovo-killing/bi/ 3. Radio Televizioni Shqiptar. "HISTORY – Mulaomerović, the Bosnian cameraman who documented killings in Kosovo" RTSH. Accessed May 28, 2026. https://rtsh.al/rti/en/history-mulaomerovic-the-bosnian-cameraman-who-documented-killings-in-kosovo/ ## Citations [^1]: Serbeze Haxhiaj, "‘That Day, The War Started’: Bosnian Cameraman’s Chilling Footage of Kosovo Killing." [^2]: Anadolu Ajansı, "'Gazi' savaş muhabiri, Saraybosna Kuşatması'nı anlattı" Anadolu Ajansı, accessed 28 May 2026, https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/gazi-savas-muhabiri-saraybosna-kusatmasini-anlatti/1110117 [^3]: Serbeze Haxhiaj, "‘That Day, The War Started’: Bosnian Cameraman’s Chilling Footage of Kosovo Killing." [^4]: Anadolu Ajansı, "'Gazi' savaş muhabiri, Saraybosna Kuşatması'nı anlattı." [^5]: Anadolu Ajansı, "'Gazi' savaş muhabiri, Saraybosna Kuşatması'nı anlattı." [^6]: Anadolu Ajansı, "'Gazi' savaş muhabiri, Saraybosna Kuşatması'nı anlattı." [^7]: Anadolu Ajansı, "'Gazi' savaş muhabiri, Saraybosna Kuşatması'nı anlattı."