Bosnia protests to continue

Anti-government protests started in the northern city of Tuzla last week and then spread throughout Bosnia as many are angry over rampant unemployment and the government's mismanagement. Protests turned violent - protesters set ablaze government buildings. This woman in Sarajevo demands the release of protesters who were arrested during Friday's outbreak of violence.

The day after violent protests shook several Bosnian cities, passersby survey the damage around the municipal building. Bosnians are in a state of shock - many expressed outrage at the actions of 'hooligans,' wondering why they attacked public property and - in the process - destroyed a valuable archive.

Downtown Sarajevo was in chaos on Friday (07.02.2014). Rioters set fire to buildings and cars in the Bosnian capital as well as in the cities of Zenica and Tuzla. Some 200 people were reportedly injured throughout the country in clashes with riot police. It has been described as the worst unrest since the end of the country's 1992-95 war.

After days of riots, people gathered in peaceful demonstrations in Sarajevo and other cities. Here, in the capital, young and old protesters gathered to make signs to urge the government to step down. Every day this week, more than 1,000 activists gathered in front of the soot-scarred presidency building chanting "Resignations! Thieves!"

Riot police stand guard in Sarajevo's business district, preventing protesters from blocking a busy main street. Human rights activist Emir Hodzic explains that unemployment, low pensions and the lack of prospects are fueling the protests. "If you put those things together, you get a dangerous mix, a people’s Molotov cocktail."

For more than a week, protesters have blocked major intersections in the city from early afternoon till after dusk. Shutting down the city's major streets is one of the protesters' main tactics. These protesters try to intimidate drivers who intend to cross their human barricades in central Sarajevo.

Protesters try to talk to riot police positioned outside Sarajevo's municipal building. "We've been waiting for this kind of uprising for 20 years," said one protester, a 30-year-old pharmacist. The unrest marks a turning point for a country that suffered the worst conflict in modern European history.

Young men seized dumpsters to use in order to block streets in central Sarajevo as anti-government demonstrations continued. According to the World Bank, youth unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina stands at well over 57 percent - several young people said that they have no job prospects in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Demonstrators gathered in front of a government building to urge the prime minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and his cabinet to resign. The Federation is one of the two entities set up in the aftermath of the war, based on the Dayton Accords. The protesters want the Federation government to step down to make way for a technocrat government.

As demonstrators march through central Sarajevo, they hold a sign that reads "Courts and police, they are all protectors of the gangs in power." While ordinary people struggle to make ends meet, politicians earn up to 10,000 euros ($13,700) each month, says Nidzjara Ahmetasevic, an energetic activist. "The people are really desperate," she says.