These barracks formerly housed the JNA (Yugoslav National Army). In the first month of the Bosnian war, the Bosnian Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) laid siege to the barracks in an attempt to prevent 400 soldiers of the JNA from leaving Sarajevo with their weapons, which would eventually be used against Bosnia's Muslim population. In order to secure the release of the men and the equipment, the Bosnian Serb's abducted the Bosnian president, Alija Izetbegovic, from Sarajevo airport and held him hostage in exchange for the release of the soldiers in the barracks.
Eventually, with the intervention of UN Commander MacKenzie, a deal was brokered in which Izetbegovic was released and the 400 JNA soldiers were allowed to leave with their equipment. However, due to some inner political turmoil within the Bosnian government, Izetbegovic was almost killed when a TDF ambush attempted to cart off some of the JNA weaponry as the convoy left the barracks.
Today, the barracks house the UN SFOR (security force) mission, which includes policing forces and providing invaluable briefings on avoiding the numerous minefields that litter the Bosnian countryside. In some of the abandoned parts of the barracks, trees can be seen sprouting out of the crumbling edifice.
