Commemoration Held for 12 Babies Who Died in Banja Luka in 1992 Wreaths, tears, and unresolved anger collided in Banja Luka as officials and families marked 34 years since 12 newborns died for lack of oxygen in a besieged city hospital — casualties not of battlefield fire, but of a global flight ban.

1992: Babies Caught in a Global No‑Fly Rule

In May and June 1992, the UN Security Council imposed a ban on international flights over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a move that also grounded planes carrying medical oxygen to Banja Luka. Local organizers now denounce that decision as a “inhumane and uncivilized” act by “world powers” that made oxygen deliveries impossible and led to the deaths of the 12 infants at the city’s Clinical Center. Another baby died 13 years later, while a fourteenth survived with severe mental and physical disabilities, they emphasize, underscoring the long shadow of the embargo.

2026: Power and Grief at the ‘Life’ Monument

On Friday, officials and bereaved families gathered at the “Life” monument in central Banja Luka, laying wreaths and flowers to mark the tragedy’s 34th anniversary. The ceremony began earlier at the New Cemetery, where a memorial service was held beside the monument to the 12 babies, attended by families and senior Republika Srpska officials.

A procession of political power was on display: the Speaker of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, Nenad Stevandić, ministers from the entity government, and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik, acting as envoy of the Serb member of Bosnia’s Presidency, all laid wreaths at the site. Representatives of veterans’ organizations and the Third Infantry (Republika Srpska) Regiment joined them, signaling a firmly state-framed memory.

Memory as Message

Beyond ritual, authorities announced a new layer of commemoration: tree planting in Mladen Stojanović Park to create an “Avenue of 12 Babies,” billed as a place of “respect and eternal remembrance.”

For Republika Srpska’s leadership and victims’ groups, the message is clear: the deaths are not just a local tragedy but an indictment of international policy — and a grievance they insist will never be allowed to fade.

1. Politika — “Wreaths and flowers laid at the ‘Life’ monument on the anniversary of the death of 12 babies” — Wreaths and flowers were laid at the ‘Life’ monument in Banja Luka to mark the 34th anniversary of the deaths of 12 infants, who died at the Clinical Center due to a lack of oxygen after international powers blocked its transport.

2. Republika.rs — “BANJALUKA BABIES WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN: A difficult day in Republika Srpska, wreaths and tears in the city center” — Senior Republika Srpska officials, families, and veterans’ groups marked the anniversary, condemning the 1992 flight ban that prevented oxygen deliveries; organizers recalled a 13th baby who died later and a 14th who survived with severe disabilities, and announced an “Avenue of 12 Babies” memorial in a city park.