Dying Girl in Minefield Cries for Help

NATO peacekeepers and townspeople watched helplessly from the edge of a minefield as a dying 11-year-old girl waved and pleaded for two hours to be rescued.

Ema Alic and two 12-year-olds died Monday after entering the field on the outskirts of Sarajevo, the capital, the latest casualties of the Bosnian war that ended four years ago.

“For two hours, the girl was showing signs of life, waved with her little hand and called for help. Then she went quiet,” said witness Nenad Krestalica, 67.

Police on Tuesday identified the other victims as Goran Biscevic and Haris Balicevac.

Signs warned of the minefield’s presence, residents said. But it was not taped off, apparently for lack of money.

Although a demining team worked quickly, more than two hours elapsed before it reached the victims. By then, all were dead.

On Tuesday, a death notice for Goran read, “ . . . in his 12th year and in a children’s game, Goran Biscevic died as a victim of a crazy war of adults.”