East Sarajevo Like Sinaloa: Two Wounded in Clan Clash
Two shootings in two days have shaken East Sarajevo. While police search for the attackers, SDS and SNSD trade blame over the security situation.
Two shootings in two days have shaken East Sarajevo. While police search for the attackers, SDS and SNSD trade blame over the security situation.
In the past two days, two armed shootings have occurred in East Sarajevo, leaving two individuals linked to local criminal clans seriously wounded, sparking heated political reactions and mutual accusations between the ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) and the opposition Serb Democratic Party (SDS).
The first incident occurred on Sunday when Kosta Pandurević was seriously wounded by gunfire on the street. A two-year-old child was in the car with him but was fortunately unharmed. Police suspect Đorđe Ždrale, the leader of one of the criminal clans, who is on the run and has been the subject of a warrant. It is believed he is hiding in Serbia.
Ždrale was released from prison in 2022 after serving time for murder. According to N1 Croatia, he served a 20-year sentence for one murder, while N1 Serbia reports that he spent 12 years in prison for the murder of former police chief in Bijeljina, Ljubiša Savić Mauzer, with part of his sentence commuted. Sources disagree on the exact length of the sentence served, but it is possible that these refer to different sentences for different murders.
Just a day later, on Monday, August 3, 2026, at around 8:50 PM, Davor Dabić, a member of Darko Elez's criminal group, was wounded in a shooting in East Novo Sarajevo. He was first taken to the "Srbija" hospital and then to the University Clinical Center Sarajevo (KCUS) where he underwent surgery. The attacker on Dabić has not yet been identified. Dabić had previously been arrested for drug trafficking. Elez and Ždrale, who are godfathers to each other's children, have been in conflict for two decades.
These shootings drew a sharp response from Darko Babalj, the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly and an SDS member. On Tuesday, August 4, 2026, he compared the situation in East Sarajevo to the Mexican state of Sinaloa, known for its brutal drug cartels.
"The streets of East Sarajevo these days resemble the Mexican Sinaloa, and officials, instead of taking steps to protect the safety of citizens, are appearing on television claiming that the security situation in East Sarajevo is at the highest level," Babalj said.
Babalj directly called out officials from the ruling SNSD, including the Mayor of East Sarajevo, Ljubiša Ćosić, and the police chief. There was a discrepancy in the name of the chief: N1 Croatia mentions Branislav Šehovac, while Babalj referred to him as Branimir Šehovac in his statement.
"This Police Administration of East Sarajevo, as led by Branimir Šehovac, has turned East Sarajevo into a safe haven for organized crime, and the shootings that have occurred over the past two days are a result of inaction and neglect for the security situation," Babalj said.
Mayor Ćosić dismissed the accusations and stated that the opposition is trying to exploit the violence for pre-election purposes, given that elections in Republika Srpska and BiH are two months away.
"They are using this situation, two months before the elections in Republika Srpska and BiH, to exploit these conflicts as something that would bring them points," Ćosić said on Tuesday.
He claimed that the situation is under control and that the police will take all necessary measures, calling East Sarajevo a "symbol of safety." He shifted the blame for the spread of crime onto the previous SDS government.
While the search continues for the fugitive Ždrale and the unknown attacker on Dabić, the security situation in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina remains tense, and the political struggle between SNSD and SDS further exacerbates an already unstable atmosphere.
