360° View: Former Bosnian Battlefield Comes Alive With ‘War Games’

A club uses the area to hone its skills in airsoft, a sport similar to paintball that involves war-like situations.

Members of airsoft team ‘Fortress’. (Image: Reuters Screengrab)

A group recently gathered in a former battlefield of Bosnia to deal with a ‘hostage situation’ — and hone their killer airsoft skills. Airsoft is a sport comparable to paintball, where players try to eliminate opponents with non-metallic pellets.

The team, known as ‘Fortress’, is one of the ten competitive airsoft clubs that compete in Bosnia’s Zenica district.

On November 21 2016, members of Fortress assembled on the location to train for their competitive matches, which occur weekly. These drills are aimed to ensure that members stay fit and combat-ready.

The players were dressed in camouflage fatigues, and immediately rushed into the woods. They then tackled a ‘hostage situation’, all the while firing plastic pellets from their airsoft guns. 

The training areas used by the players are former Bosnian battlefields. The players, who belong to various religions and nationalities, admit that has this been twenty years ago, they probably would have been fighting on opposing sides.

They believe that the sport of airsoft is not just a game, but, in fact, a symbol of post-war friendship and camaraderie.

Video Editor: Ashutosh Bharadwaj