‘When I Came To, I Was . . . Covered With Blood’

Slovenian forces surprised federal soldiers late Thursday with a sudden barrage of gunfire after an all-day standoff. One armored vehicle exploded in flames, trapping its two-member crew inside. AP photographer Srdjan Ilic witnessed the fight.

In the confusion of battle, there was a sudden explosion. When I came to, I was face down on the ground, covered with blood.

The Slovenian militia had trapped four of the federal army’s armored personnel carriers in this town six miles northeast of Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital. The vehicles were unable to break through barricades of heavy trucks.

The Slovenes gave them until 5 p.m. to surrender. When the deadline passed, the Slovene guards opened fire.

One of the vehicles burst into flames, and its occupants were trapped inside. None came out.

Fuel seeped out of the burning vehicle and exploded in an inferno that engulfed everything within 50 yards. Even the barricades caught fire.

The explosion scattered debris everywhere.

The federal soldiers clearly had not expected the Slovenes to fire. Their vehicles were open and some soldiers were leaning out of them.

Slovenian Interior Minister Igor Bavcar said later that four federal soldiers and one Slovene were killed in the incident. Twenty were injured.

Local residents took me to a clinic where my forehead was bandaged. I drove back to Ljubljana with blood pouring down my face. I filed my pictures and then was taken to a hospital, where I received five stitches above my left eye.

Thirteen wounded had been brought there, some from Trzn. Some had gunshot wounds in their legs, others had burns on their faces and hands.

Two armed Slovene guards in bulletproof vests were stationed outside the hospital door. Teams of doctors waited at the emergency ward as ambulance after ambulance arrived and stretchers were rushed inside.