| Ramiz Delalić | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Ćelo |
| Born | February 15, 1963 Priboj, Yugoslavia |
| Died | June 27, 2007 (aged 44) Sarajevo |
| Allegiance | ARBiH |
| Unit | 9th Mountain Brigade (I Corps (Bosnia and Herzegovina) |
| Commands held | Deputy Commander of 9th mbr. in Sarajevo |
| Battles/wars | Bosnian War Siege of Sarajevo |
Ramiz Delalić (15 February 1963 - 27 June 2007), widely known by his nickname Ćelo (pronounced: Chelo[nb 1]) is known as commander of 9th Mountain Brigade in Sarajevo, and also as main suspect who stood trial before a local court for the killing of Nikola Gardović on March 1, 1992 during a Serb wedding in front of the old Orthodox Church in Sarajevo - an event many Serbian nationalists consider as the criminal act that triggered the 1992-95 war. The accusations for this killing were never proven.
Delalić was also one of several prominent underworld figures who helped to defend Sarajevo during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite of the rumors of him, later during the war, starting running racketeering and extortion rings, his acts during the wartime were still considered far less controversial when compared to other local warlords, like Jusuf "Juka" Prazina in particular. Unlike Prazina and some other local gangsters, Delalić remained loyal and obedient to official Bosnian political and military authorities through the entire war-period and it is even assumed that he was very close with Bosnian president, Alija Izetbegović.
Ramiz Delalić was gunned down at the entrance to his apartment building in the center of Sarajevo, on June 27, 2007. The exact reasons of why Delalić went outside of his apartment in late hours, unarmed and without wearing bulletproof vest (that he regularly wore in every occasion due numerous threats from his enemies) is still unknown. There are speculations that he may have got a phone call from somebody close to him, who he trusted, to meet outside apartment. The killer waited for Delalić and fired at him two separate times from his firearm, each time with multiple shots. The murder weapon was likely a Heckler & Koch MP5. Immediately after the shooting, an ambulance arrived. However, there was no saving Delalić, and doctors were only able to proclaim him dead. Lirim Bytyqi (Bitići), called Svrka - an ethnic Albanian, citizen of Serbia; and another person whose identity is partially known to the police, are pointed as murder suspects. Although there are no official evidences at this time, several of Delalić's friends and associates are claiming that the leader of an Albanian rival mob in Sarajevo, and Delalić's longtime enemy, Muhamed Ali Gaši, is likely to have ordered the hit.
Ramiz Delalić was buried in the martyr's cemetery "Kovači" in Sarajevo.