In a bombshell accusation, investigators have claimed wealthy gun enthusiasts from overseas were permitted to shoot people in Sarajevo in the 1990s, like a 'human safari'.
An Italian journalist and novelist, Ezio Gavazzeni, has claimed to have uncovered evidence that so-called 'sniper tourists' from overseas could fork out upwards of $90,000 to gun down people at random during a four-year siege of the city amid the peak of the Bosnian war.
According to the BBC, Gavazzeni, who writes about terrorism and the mafia, described a 'manhunt' by 'very wealthy people' who were granted permission to murder 'defenceless civilians' from Serb positions in the hills around the city, now prompting a major investigation in Milan.
It is believed the tourists paid different rates to gun down men and women, with children reportedly costing a higher price.
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A staggering 11,000 people lost their lives during the brutal siege that tore down Yugoslavia and saw Sarejevo surrounded by Serb forces between 1992 and 1995, where they were subject to relentless shelling and snipers.
“There were Germans, French, English … people from all Western countries who paid large sums of money to be taken there to shoot civilians,” Gavazzeni claimed as per the complaint in Milan.
“There were no political or religious motivations. They were rich people who went there for fun and personal satisfaction. We are talking about people who love guns who perhaps go to shooting ranges or on safari in Africa."
The investigative writer isn't the only one to have made such claims with similar allegations about 'human hunters' from overseas coming to light on occasion, though the evidence presented by Gavazzeni, which reportedly includes testimony of a Bosnian military intelligence officer, is being examined by Italian counter terrorism prosecutor Alessandro Gobbis.
The officer is said to have revealed his Bosnian colleagues discovered the alleged 'safaris' in 1993 and had passed on the details to Italy's Sismi military intelligence a year later.
The military allegedly found out such tourists were flying from Trieste, the northern border in Italy, to make way for the hills above Sarajevo.
"We've put a stop to it and there won't be any more safaris," the officer was apparently told, according to Ansa news agency, after which the trips came to an abrupt halt.
Gavazzeni said he was motivated to uncover the truth after initially reading reports about the horrific crimes in Italian newspapers three decades ago, but struggled to find any more evidence.
He then dug deeper after watching a 2022 documentary, Sarajevo Safari, made by Slovenian director Miran Zupanic, that includes testimony from a former Serb soldier who claimed visitors from the US, Russia and Italy would come to shoot at civilians from the Sarajevo hills.
The investigator handed prosecutors his findings, a 17-page report, in February this year.
Speaking to Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, Gavazzeni claims 'many' participated in the crimes, estimating 'at least a hundred' with Italians paying 'a lot of money', around €100,000.
Gobbis and other Italian prosecutors are now looking to identify if any Italians were involved in the alleged sniper tourism and, if so, charge them with murder.
“We are impatient to discover the truth about such a cruel matter in order to close a chapter of history," a spokesperson from the Bosnian Consulate in Milan on behalf of the Bosnian government said, as per New York Post.
"I am in possession of certain information I will be sharing with the investigators."
Topics: World News, History, Crime, Military
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