Hermit Bosnian convinced war still on
Friday February 22 2002
A MAN in Bosnia spent nearly six years hiding in the mountains because he was convinced the war was still raging, it emerged yesterday.
British soldiers peacekeeping in the former Balkans battlezone said the bewildered and bedraggled hermit was discovered in an abandoned house living off berries and nuts, which he gathered to feed himself during the winter.
In a situation similar to Japanese soldiers who emerged from jungle hideaways years after the Second World War, Illija Panincic was unaware the conflict in Bosnia had ended. He had avoided all human contact since embarking on his self-imposed exile at the end of 1996.
The Bosnian Serb, who was born in 1950 but apparently does not know which month, took to the hills after learning his brothers had been executed by Croat authorities in 1995.
He was imprisoned for eight months in the town of Tomislavgrad for an offence he claimed he did not commit.
When he gained his freedom at the end of 1996, he wasted no time in fleeing to the mountains surrounding the town of Sipovo (population 5,000), said Major Nigel Taylor, local commandant of the Nato peacekeeping Stabilisation Force (SFOR).
He was discovered by a local walking group, which passed on details of his whereabouts to Major Taylor. Since discovering him five months ago, British soldiers have been ferrying food and clothing to his hilltop hideaway.
It is reached by a seven-mile dirt track followed by a two-mile hike across rough terrain and rivers not passable by Army Land Rovers.
When soldiers first visited, they found Mr Panincic had lost much of his ability to speak after six years without contact.
His only neighbour was a brown bear that used to scratch at his door.
Mr Panincic said he was not married and had been a shepherd with a flock of 350 sheep before the war.
The soldiers plan to raise money to install a power supply for a TV so Mr Panincic can bring himself up to date with events.
Major Taylor said Mr Panincic's reaction to learning the war was over was muted.
"The sad thing is, I bet there are hundreds of people like him out there. They will be found over time."
- Sam Greenhill
