International
Watching Ukraine, Bosnians relive the trauma of their war
“Not so long ago, we were them,” said Amra Muftic who survived the 1992-95 siege, watching news reports showing civilians taking refuge from Russian rocket attacks, shelling and gunfire in basements and metro stations.
“If our experience is anything to go by — and I have a gut feeling that it is — things are about to get much worse,” for them, she added.
Bosnian Serb forces laid siege to Sarajevo in the early 1990s, during the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia. Some 350,000 people were trapped, for 46 months, in their multiethnic city, subjected to daily shelling and sniper attacks and cut off from regular access to electricity, food, water, medicine, and the outside world.
More than 11,000 people were killed during the siege, including over 1,000 children. Countless others were wounded.
“We know how they feel. We survived the longest siege in modern history” said Elma Vukotic, an anesthesiologist, as she and her fellow healthcare workers stood earlier this week outside their Sarajevo hospital, clad in their medical robes and holding balloons in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flat — and, coincidentally, also the Bosnian one. Vukotic said their spontaneous show of solidarity was the least they could do for their Ukrainian colleagues.
“All wars are painful, all attacks against civilians abhorrent, but what is happening to Ukrainians right now is especially traumatic for us because they are so near and in a situation very similar to ours” three decades ago, Vukotic said.
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“Television images of pregnant women waiting to give birth in the basement of the Kyiv hospital, hastily converted into an emergency bomb shelter, gave me a strong sense of deja vu; I know exactly how they feel, how terrified they must be,” she added. “Also, I think we all can empathize with how unwilling ordinary Ukrainians were to accept that the war was coming until Russian rockets and bombs started raining down on their homes, schools and hospitals.”
The Bosnian war started when Bosnian Serbs, with the help of the Yugoslav army, tried to create ethnically pure territories with the aim of joining neighboring Serbia. More than 100,000 people were killed and 2 million — more than a half of the country’s population — were left homeless during the conflict.
The Serb leadership argued throughout the war that multiethnic Bosnia was not a country at all and that, along with its Catholic Croats and its Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslim and account for about half of the population, it should be split between neighboring Serbia and Croatia. Bosniaks, they insisted, were just treacherous Serb converts who centuries ago abandoned their original (Orthodox Christian) faith.
Many in Sarajevo heard the echoes of those old insults in Vladimir Putin’s recent statements, offered to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A United Nations arms embargo maintained in Bosnia throughout the 1990s conflict gave Bosnian Serb militias, armed and backed by the Serbia-controlled Yugoslav Army, an edge in the fight. They conquered 60% of Bosnia’s territory in less than two months, committing horrendous atrocities against their Bosniak and Croat compatriots.
In 1995, the U.S.-brokered Dayton Peace agreement put an end to the bloodshed in Bosnia by dividing the country into two semi-autonomous parts — one run by the Serbs and the other shared by Bosniaks and Croats. The two are linked by weak multiethnic institutions.
But living together in the aftermath of a brutal, fratricidal conflict has proven to be difficult.
The postwar power-sharing system perpetuates the polarized and venomous political climate in Bosnia, while its entrenched nationalist leaders continuously stoke ethnic animosities for political gain.
With Moscow’s backing, the strongly pro-Russian Bosnian Serbs, in particular, have been advocating for years for the independence of their region. Meanwhile, sectarian networks of patronage and pervasive corruption, which gradually became integral to the system, ensure that Bosnia remains one of the poorest countries in Europe, increasingly hemorrhaging its best and brightest.
“Right now, Ukrainians are subjected to torture, they are pleading for help and hoping for who knows what,” said Zoka Catic, a film-maker and journalist from Sarajevo who has spent years documenting the devastating impact of war on the mental health of Bosnians of all ethnic stripes.
No matter how the conflict in Ukraine ends, he argued, there is no such thing as a happy ending to a war.
“It is just a matter of time…before (Ukrainians) turn into us: sad, unhappy people who experienced the worst feeling in the world — helplessness.”
International
Iran Threatens US-Linked Universities in Middle East Amid Escalating Tensions
Iran Threatens US-Linked Universities in Middle East Amid Escalating Tensions
March 29, 2026
Iran has issued a stark warning that American-affiliated universities operating in the Middle East could become potential targets, as tensions between Iran and the United States continue to rise.
The threat, attributed to Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), follows allegations that Iranian universities were damaged in recent strikes linked to the ongoing conflict. Iranian officials have not publicly provided detailed evidence of the alleged attacks but have condemned what they describe as violations of sovereignty and international norms.
In statements carried by international media, the IRGC warned that institutions with ties to the United States in the region could be considered “legitimate targets” if hostilities persist. Authorities also advised civilians to avoid such facilities, raising concerns about the safety of students, faculty, and staff across several countries in the Middle East.
While the rhetoric signals a dangerous expansion of potential targets beyond military installations, there has been no widely verified confirmation from major global outlets of a specific ultimatum or deadline tied to the warning. Analysts say the language used reflects an escalation in tone but stops short of confirming imminent attacks.
The development comes amid an increasingly volatile regional environment, with both nations exchanging accusations over recent incidents tied to the broader conflict. Diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions have so far yielded little progress, as global powers call for restraint.
Security experts warn that any attack on educational institutions would mark a significant shift in the conflict, potentially drawing widespread international condemnation and increasing the risk of further escalation.
Governments in the region are said to be reviewing security arrangements around foreign-linked institutions, while universities are reportedly monitoring the situation closely.
As of press time, officials from the United States had not issued a formal response specifically addressing the threat to universities, though Washington has repeatedly condemned attacks on civilian infrastructure and reiterated its commitment to protecting American interests abroad.
Iran Threatens US-Linked Universities in Middle East Amid Escalating Tensions
International
Trump Claims Iran Sent Oil Shipments Amid Backchannel Talks
Trump Claims Iran Sent Oil Shipments Amid Backchannel Talks
U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran dispatched ten oil tankers to the United States as part of indirect negotiations aimed at easing ongoing tensions between the two nations.
According to a report by Sky News on Friday, March 27, 2026, Trump made the assertion while speaking at the Future Investment Initiative in Miami. He suggested that the shipments were a gesture of goodwill, possibly intended as an acknowledgment of ongoing diplomatic engagements.
“It turned out I was right,” Trump said, referring to earlier claims that talks were underway between Washington and Tehran—claims initially denied by Iranian authorities. “They were negotiating, which they admitted two days later.”
Providing further details, Trump stated that Iran had first proposed sending eight oil ships before increasing the number to ten. “They said, ‘we’re going to send you eight ships of oil.’ They actually said, ‘we’re going to add an extra two,’ and they added an extra two,” he said. “So we had ten ships, and then people realized we were actually negotiating.”
Trump also struck a confident tone regarding developments in the Middle East, declaring that the region was “closer than ever” to being free from what he described as Iranian “terror, aggression and nuclear blackmail.”
However, Iranian officials have firmly rejected the claims of formal negotiations. Authorities in Iran insist that no direct talks are taking place with the United States, maintaining that any communication occurs strictly through third-party intermediaries, including Pakistan.
Tehran’s continued denial underscores the sensitive nature of any potential engagement with Washington, particularly amid domestic political pressures and broader regional dynamics.
The contrasting narratives highlight the uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran relations, with both sides presenting differing accounts of ongoing diplomatic efforts.
Trump Claims Iran Sent Oil Shipments Amid Backchannel Talks
International
Iranian Strike on Saudi Base Damages US Spy Plane, Injures 12 Troops
Iranian Strike on Saudi Base Damages US Spy Plane, Injures 12 Troops
Tensions in the Middle East have intensified following a major strike by Iranian forces on a United States military installation in Saudi Arabia, leaving several American personnel injured and damaging high-value military assets.
Iran reportedly launched a coordinated attack involving ballistic missiles and drones on the Prince Sultan Air Base on Saturday, targeting U.S. Air Force equipment stationed at the facility.
Initial reports from outlets including Daily Post Nigeria and Fox News indicated that a U.S. E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft—estimated to be worth about $700 million—was destroyed in the strike. The aircraft serves as a critical airborne radar and command center, capable of detecting threats and coordinating air operations over vast distances.
However, more recent and verified accounts suggest that the aircraft, identified as the Boeing E-3 Sentry, was damaged but not confirmed destroyed, raising questions about the accuracy of early claims surrounding the extent of the losses.
In addition to the AWACS aircraft, at least one KC-135 Stratotanker was reportedly struck during the ആക്രമation and caught fire, further compounding the scale of the incident.
U.S. officials confirmed that 12 American service members were injured in the attack. According to Fox News, two of the wounded personnel were listed in serious condition, while the remaining casualties sustained lighter injuries.
Military analysts note that the strike demonstrates Iran’s growing capability to conduct coordinated long-range attacks using a combination of drones and precision-guided missiles, posing a significant threat to U.S. assets in the region.
The latest escalation comes amid an ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran, which has persisted for approximately one month. The war has already led to significant casualties and heightened geopolitical tensions across the Middle East, particularly following reports of high-profile killings involving senior Iranian figures.
As of press time, there has been no official confirmation from the U.S. Department of Defense regarding the total extent of damage to the aircraft or whether any assets were completely destroyed.
Security experts warn that the attack could trigger further retaliation, raising fears of a broader regional confrontation involving key global powers and strategic allies in the Gulf.
Iranian Strike on Saudi Base Damages US Spy Plane, Injures 12 Troops
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