Milan prosecutors investigate Italian “sniper safaris” targeting civilians in Sarajevo

Wealthy foreigners paid £80k to shoot Serbian civilians in besieged Sarajevo, Italian prosecutors claim.
Photo: AFP

Milan prosecutors investigate claims that Italians paid to shoot civilians on “sniper safaris” in Sarajevo during the early 1990s war.

The public prosecutor’s office in Milan has launched an investigation into allegations that Italian citizens participated in “sniper safaris” in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the early 1990s war, reports ‘Baltimore Chronicle’ with reference to BBC. According to the complaint, Italians and others allegedly paid significant sums to shoot at civilians in the besieged city of Sarajevo.

The complaint was filed by journalist and novelist Ezio Gavazzeni, who described the practice as a “manhunt” carried out by wealthy individuals with a fascination for weapons, paying to kill unarmed civilians from positions held by Serb forces on the surrounding hills. Some reports indicate that different fees were charged for targeting men, women, or children.

More than 11,000 civilians died during the brutal four-year siege of Sarajevo, a city surrounded by Serb forces and subjected to constant shelling and sniper fire during the breakup of Yugoslavia. Similar claims about foreign “human hunters” have emerged repeatedly over the years, but the evidence compiled by Gavazzeni, including testimony from a Bosnian military intelligence officer, is now under review by Italian counter-terrorism prosecutor Alessandro Gobbis. The allegations carry a murder charge.

The Bosnian officer reportedly revealed that his colleagues had discovered the so-called safaris in late 1993 and passed the information to Italy’s military intelligence service, Sismi, in early 1994. Sismi acted within a few months, learning that “safari” tourists traveled from Trieste in northern Italy to positions overlooking Sarajevo. According to the officer, the trips were halted within two to three months.

Gavazzeni, who typically reports on terrorism and organized crime, first encountered reports of sniper tours to Sarajevo three decades ago in Corriere della Sera, though the claims lacked concrete evidence. His research was renewed after the 2022 documentary “Sarajevo Safari” by Slovenian director Miran Zupanic, which alleges that participants came from multiple countries, including Italy, the United States, and Russia. Gavazzeni submitted his findings to prosecutors in February, compiling a 17-page dossier that includes a report by former Sarajevo mayor Benjamina Karic.

In an interview with La Repubblica, Gavazzeni estimated that at least a hundred individuals took part, with Italians paying up to €100,000 (£88,000) for participation.

The first reports of Milan prosecutors opening a case emerged in July, when Il Giornale detailed how Italians traveled by minivan into the mountains, bribing checkpoints under the guise of humanitarian missions, carried out weekend-long shooting excursions, and returned to their ordinary lives. Gavazzeni described this conduct as the “indifference of evil.” Prosecutors and police are currently identifying witnesses as part of efforts to determine who may have been involved.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is shocked.
Photo: AFP