Sarajevo State Buildings Torched in Riots

Protests escalated into clashes with police and attacks on government offices.

Sarajevo State Buildings Torched in Riots

Protests escalated into clashes with police and attacks on government offices.

A security guard's kiosk burns next to the building of the Sarajevo Canton government. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
A security guard's kiosk burns next to the building of the Sarajevo Canton government. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Smoke rises from the centre of Sarajevo. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Smoke rises from the centre of Sarajevo. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Fire takes hold inside the Sarajevo Canton government. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Fire takes hold inside the Sarajevo Canton government. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Smoke billows from the Sarajevo Canton government behind a statue of Đuro Đaković, a 1920s trade union leader. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Smoke billows from the Sarajevo Canton government behind a statue of Đuro Đaković, a 1920s trade union leader. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina files above the burning Presidency. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina files above the burning Presidency. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Demonstrators hold their ground on a bridge crossing the Miljacka river. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Demonstrators hold their ground on a bridge crossing the Miljacka river. February 7, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Protestors gather in front of the building of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, two days after it was damaged by fire. February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Protestors gather in front of the building of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, two days after it was damaged by fire. February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
A protestor with a sign saying “I am not a hooligan. Resign.” February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
A protestor with a sign saying “I am not a hooligan. Resign.” February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Burnt-out ruins of a tram stop and kiosk two days after Sarajevo riots. February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Burnt-out ruins of a tram stop and kiosk two days after Sarajevo riots. February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
The building that houses the Sarajevo Canton and Centar Sarajevo Municipality governments, two days after it was damaged by fire. February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
The building that houses the Sarajevo Canton and Centar Sarajevo Municipality governments, two days after it was damaged by fire. February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Sarajevo Canton government building two days after it suffered fire damage. February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Sarajevo Canton government building two days after it suffered fire damage. February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Police guard the entrance to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency, with barricaded doors and fire damage clearly visible. February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Police guard the entrance to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency, with barricaded doors and fire damage clearly visible. February 9, 2014. (Photo: Jim Marshall)
Tuesday, 11 February, 2014

Anti-government protests in Sarajevo and other urban centres in Bosnia last week escalated into clashes between demonstrators and police. Crowds stormed a number of local and national government buildings and started fires.

The protests began among workers in the industrial town of Tuzla before expanding to other parts of the Federation (the bigger of Bosnia’s two entities), with a wider focus on government inefficiency, systemic corruption, botched privatisations and social injustice.

These images show damage caused during the protests in Sarajevo.

Photographs by Jim Marshall, a freelance photographer living in Sarajevo.

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