Operation Irma
Operation Irma was a series of airlifts to rescue injured civilians from Sarajevo during the Bosnian siege. It began in 1993 after five-year-old Irma Hadžimuratović was badly wounded and could not be treated in the city. Her case drew wide international media attention, especially in Britain, and helped push Western governments to act.
On August 9, 1993, British Prime Minister John Major ordered an RAF plane to fly Irma to London for treatment. In the weeks and months that followed, more Bosnians were evacuated on similar flights, with support from several countries. The operation received a lot of publicity and money was raised, but it also sparked debate. Critics said the scale was small compared with the need and that the focus on a single, photogenic child looked like political public relations rather than humanitarian relief. They argued that resources could have gone to local hospitals and questioned who was chosen for evacuation (initially mostly children).
Supporters argued that any help mattered and that the coverage helped draw attention to Sarajevo and the wider war.
The siege of Sarajevo caused enormous suffering, with many killed or wounded and thousands displaced. Irma remained paralyzed and needed a ventilator; she died on April 1, 1995, in London at age seven after twenty months in intensive care. Her case became a symbol of the Bosnia crisis and of how media coverage can influence government action.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:42 (CET).