Wealthy “sniper tourists” allegedly paid up to $90,000 to shoot at people during so-called “human safaris” in Sarajevo in the 1990s — with an additional fee if they killed children, according to shocking claims currently being investigated by Italian prosecutors.
The investigation was launched after an Italian writer claimed to have found evidence that wealthy gun enthusiasts — called “sniper tourists” — paid Bosnian Serb forces to allow them to randomly shoot at residents during the four-year siege of the city, reports The Guardian.
More than 10,000 people were killed in Sarajevo by sniper fire and shelling between 1992 and 1996 during the Balkan wars.
“There were Germans, French, English… people from all Western countries who paid large sums of money to be taken there and shoot at civilians,” said investigative journalist Ezio Gavaceni.
“There were no political or religious motives. These were rich people who went there for fun and personal pleasure. We’re talking about people who love weapons, who perhaps go to shooting ranges or on safaris in Africa,” Gavaceni added.
He said he first read about the alleged shootings by “tourists” in the Italian media in the 1990s but began investigating in more detail after watching a 2022 documentary about a former Serbian soldier who claimed that foreigners fired at residents from the hills around Sarajevo.
As a key source, Gavaceni cites a former member of the Bosnian intelligence service.
The newly launched investigation, led by prosecutors in Milan, aims to identify any Italians involved in the so-called “sniper tourism.”
Gavaceni claims he has already discovered the identities of some Italians who allegedly participated in the massacre and that they are expected to be summoned for questioning in the coming weeks.
The Consulate of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Milan announced that the Bosnian government will provide “full cooperation” during the investigation.
“We are eager to uncover the truth about such a cruel event and to close a chapter of history. I have certain information that I will share with the investigators,” said the consulate’s spokesperson in a statement.
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Source: New York Post, Foto: AFP via Getty Images