Wealthy foreign gun enthusiasts allegedly traveled to Sarajevo for ‘sniper tourism’ during its four-year siege in the 1990s by Serb-Bosnian militias

Between 1992 and 1996, about 13, 952 people were killed in Sarajevo by shelling and sniper fire in the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare, 5,434 were civilians

Prosecutors in Milan opened an investigation into Italian tourists who allegedly paid between $92,000 and$ 116,000, [£70,000], to shoot innocent people in ‘human safari’ hunting trips to Sarajevo

Tourists allegedly paid troops from the army of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić for weekend trips to the besieged city, participating in the massacre of residents for pleasure

Those desirous of shooting children with the sniper rifles were charged extra

The genocide came to light in the 2022 documentary ‘Sarajevo Safari’ by Slovenian filmmaker Miran Zupanic

Zupanic gathered testimonies about the possibility of wealthy Italians and other nationalities paying to travel to Sarajevo to shoot at residents

In 2016 Karadžić, was sentenced to 40 years for genocide and other crimes against humanity

Bosnian soldier squatting in the middle of civilians in Sarajevo returns fire as they come under fire from Serbian snipers during the conflict

In the fours between 1992 and 1996, more than 13,952 people were killed in Sarajevo by shelling and sniper fire in the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. 5,434 of the casualties in the Bosnian war were civilians.
Wealthy foreign gun enthusiasts have been accused of contributing to the tragedy, traveling to the city for ‘sniper tourism’ during the four-years it was under siege by Serb-Bosnian militias.
Investigators say Italian tourists and other nationalities, who are understood to have had ties to hard-right circles, paid members of the Bosnian Serb army for weekend trips to Sarajevo where they participated in the massacre of residents for pleasure, shooting from rooftops at the city below, using sniper rifles.

French UN soldier stands alongside a group of Sarajevans sheltering from sniper fire behind a UN armored personnel carrier

The sniper tourists allegedly paid huge sums to troops in the army led by former Bosnian Serb president, Radovan Karadžić’, [center], to shoot innocent civilians from high perches with sniper rifles. In 2016 he was sentenced to 40 years for genocide and other crimes against humanity

Prosecutors in Milan who opened an investigation into allegations that Italian tourists paid between $92,000 and $116,000 [£70,000 to £88,292], shoot innocent people in ‘human safari’ hunting trips to Sarajevo.
According to the reports, if the tourist desired to shoot hapless children with the sniper rifles? they paid extra.
The investigation began after a 17-page legal complaint was submitted by Milan-based writer and journalist Ezio Gavazzeni, with the support of former magistrate Guido Salvini and Benjamina Karic, mayor of Sarajevo from 2021 to 2024.
The allegations came to light in the 2022 documentary ‘Sarajevo Safari’ by Slovenian filmmaker Miran Zupanic, who gathered testimonies about the possibility of wealthy Italians and other nationalities paying to travel to Sarajevo to shoot at residents.

Civilians run for cover as they pass an area of heavy Serb sniper fire in the besieged Bosnian capital. Snipers with the militias surrounded the city on hilltops, shooting at will, down at the city below

The tourists are accused of having paid the large amounts of money to troops from Radovan Karadžić’s army. The former Bosnian Serb leader who in 2016 was sentenced to 40 years for genocide and other crimes against humanity.
The moneyed foreigners were allegedly transported to the hills surrounding Sarajevo to take aim at passersby, whose daily lives was ruled by the a deep fear of the indiscriminate sniping.
Streets such as Ulica Zmaja od Bosne and Meša Selimović Boulevard, the main road running into Sarajevo, were nicknamed ‘Sniper Alley’ because of the extreme danger they posed to residents.
Meša Selimović Boulevard could not be avoided, however, as it was the way to Sarajevo airport.

Romanian freelance photographer Vadim Ghirda, [center], joined locals in 1996, to carry a dead Bosnian Muslim, as Norwegian and Swedish IFOR soldiers provide cover, returning fire at Bosnian Serb gunmen during the siege of Sarajevo

The Bosnian Attorney General’s Office apparently shelved an investigation into the ‘sniper tourism’ because of the difficulty of probing such a case in a country still deeply scarred and divided by war, Gavazzeni told la Repubblica on Tuesday.
‘We are talking about wealthy people, with reputations, businessmen who during the siege of Sarajevo paid to kill unarmed civilians. They left Trieste for a manhunt and then returned to their respectable daily lives,’ he said. 
Lead prosecutor Alessandro Gobbi is reported to have a list of several witnesses of the cruel sport who could be called to testify. 
Gavazzeni said that there could be up to 100 tourists who took part in the mass-shooting of civilians for weekend sport. The case mentions a Milanese businessman who owns a private cosmetic surgery clinic, as well as citizens from Turin and Trieste.

Navigating the streets notoriously name ‘Sniper alley’ frightened Sarajevo residents mass up to cross the street behind a Bosnian soldier

‘I hope they can locate at least one or two, maybe 10,’ he said.
Witnesses reportedly, include a Bosnian intelligence agent with the initials E. S., who claims Italian intelligence had information about the allegations in 1993 and that classified files on the case still exist.
Apparently, Bosnian intelligence warned of the presence of at least five Italians in the hills around Sarajevo, accompanied there to shoot at civilians, according to the witness.
Other alleged witnesses include a Slovenian intelligence official, victims, and a wounded firefighter who, during the 2002 trial of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in The Hague, described ‘tourist shooters’ with distinctive clothing and weapons that distinguished them from Serbian soldiers.
la Repubblica quotes Dag Dumrukcic, the Bosnian consul in Milan, ‘We are eager to uncover the truth about such a cruel matter and settle accounts with the past. I am aware of some information that I will contribute to the investigation,’ signalling to authorities in Italy that they had the ‘full cooperation’ of his government. 
‘We are eager to uncover the truth about such a cruel matter and settle accounts with the past. I am aware of some information that I will contribute to the investigation,’ he said.