Battle of Vrbanja bridge The Battle of Vrbanja bridge was an armed confrontation which occurred on 27 May 1995 between United Nations ( UN ) peacekeepers from the French Army and elements of the Army of the Republika Srpska ( VRS ) , after the VRS took over French - manned United Nations Protection Force ( UNPROFOR ) observation post s on both ends of the Vrbanja bridge crossing of the Miljacka river in Sarajevo , Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War . The VRS took the French peacekeepers hostage . A platoon of 30 French peacekeepers subsequently re - captured the bridge supported by another 70 French infantry and direct fire from armoured vehicles . During the French assault , elements of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( ARBiH ) opened fire on the VRS - held observation posts , accidentally wounding one French hostage . Two French soldiers were killed during the assault and 10 were wounded . VRS casualties were four killed , three wounded and four captured . Following the battle , VRS forces were observed to be less likely to engage French UN peacekeepers deployed in the city . Background . In March 1995 , while NATO was planning a new strategy to support peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina , a ceasefire brokered by former US President Jimmy Carter between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( ARBiH ) and the Army of Republika Srpska ( VRS ) forces expired and , as predicted , fighting resumed . As the struggle gradually widened , the ARBiH launched a large - scale offensive in the area of Sarajevo . In response to this attack , the VRS seized heavy weapons from a UN - guarded depot , and began shelling targets around Sarajevo . In retaliation for these actions , the UN commander , Lieutenant General Rupert Smith requested NATO air strikes . NATO responded on 25 and 26 May 1995 by bombing a VRS ammunition dump at Pale . The mission was carried out by USAF F - 16 s and Spanish Air Force EF - 18 As Hornets armed with laser - guided bomb s . The Serbs then seized 377 UNPROFOR hostages and used them as human shield s for a variety of potential targets in Bosnia and Herzegovina , forcing NATO to end the air strikes . Facing a second hostage crisis , General Smith and other top UN commanders began to shift strategy . The UN began to redeploy its forces to more defensible locations , so that they would be harder to attack and so that it would be more difficult to take UN personnel hostage . General Rose , on the other hand , established the UN Rapid Reaction Force , a heavily armed land unit with more aggressive rules of engagement , designed to take offensive action if necessary to prevent hostage - taking and enforce peace agreements . Vrbanja bridge was in no - man ' s - land , surrounded by tall buildings which made the location a target of sniper - fire from the beginning of the war . On 5 April 1992 , six protestors including Suada Dilberović and Olga Sučić were shot on the bridge by Serb snipers , and are considered by Croats and Bosniaks to be the first victims at the beginning of the Siege of Sarajevo . Battle . VRS attack . On 27 May 1995 at 4 : 30 am , VRS soldiers posing as French troops captured the UN observation posts on both ends of the bridge without firing a shot . They wore French uniforms , flak jackets , helmets , and personal weapons and drove a French armoured personnel carrier ( APC ) - all stolen from UN troops detained outside the city . The Serbs disarmed the 12 peacekeepers on the bridge at gunpoint . Ten were taken to an unknown destination while two remained on the site as human shields . According to Colonel Erik Sandahl , commander of the 4th French Battalion ( FREBAT4 ) which was at that time provided by the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment , " when the Serbs took our soldiers under their control by threat , by dirty tricks , they began to act as terrorists , you cannot support this . You must react . The moment comes when you have to stop it . Full stop . And we did . " French reaction . The first evidence that something was wrong at Vrbanja bridge was radio silence from the French post . Captain Francois Lecointre was sent to find out what was happening ; he was met by a Serb sentry in French uniform who attempted to take him prisoner . Lecointre quickly turned around and drove to Skenderija stadium , the headquarters of FREBAT4 . The French responded by sending a platoon of 30 FREBAT4 troops to re - capture the northern end of the bridge , backed by another 70 French infantry , six ERC 90 Sagaie armored cars and several VAB APCs . The assault force was led by Lecointre , who approached the northern edge of the bridge following the usual route of the UN convoys . The French overran a sangar held by the VRS , at the cost of the life of Private Jacki Humblot . The assault was supported by 90mm direct fire from the armoured cars and heavy machine - gun fire . The Serbs responded with mortar bombs and fire from anti - aircraft weapons . Five French were wounded in the clash , while four VRS soldiers were killed and four were taken prisoner . ARBiH snipers joined the fight , accidentally shooting and wounding one French hostage . At the conclusion of the 32 minute - long firefight , the VRS remained in control of the southern end of the bridge , while the French occupied the northern end . The VRS then asked for a truce to recover their dead and wounded , under the threat of killing French hostages . The wounded French soldier was immediately released and evacuated to a UN hospital . The VRS eventually gave up and abandoned the southern end of the bridge . The last French soldier held as hostage , a corporal , managed to escape . The second French soldier to die in the battle , Private Marcel Amaru , was killed by a sniper while on a supporting mission in the Jewish cemetery of Sarajevo . The VRS soldiers captured in the action were treated as prisoners of war and detained at an UNPROFOR facility . Aftermath . According to the top French officers involving in the operation , the action on Vrbanja bridge showed the VRS that UNPROFOR ' s attitude had changed . Lieutenant Colonel Erik Roussel stated later that " since the incident , the Serbs are strangely quiet towards us . " A memorial to the French soldiers killed in action was unveiled on 5 April 1996 , along with a plaque commemorating Suada Dilberović and Olga Sučić . That day , the bridge was renamed in memory of Dilberović and Sučić .