The public prosecutor's office in Milan has opened an investigation into claims that Italian citizens travelled to Bosnia-Herzegovina on 'sniper safaris' during the war in the early 1990s. Italians and others are alleged to have paid large sums to shoot at civilians in the besieged city of Sarajevo.
The Milan complaint was filed by journalist and novelist Ezio Gavazzeni, who describes a 'manhunt' by 'very wealthy people' with a passion for weapons who 'paid to be able to kill defenceless civilians' from Serb positions in the hills around Sarajevo. Different rates were charged to kill men, women or children, according to some reports.
More than 11,000 people died during the brutal four-year siege of Sarajevo. Yugoslavia was torn apart by war and the city was surrounded by Serb forces and subjected to constant shelling and sniper fire. Similar allegations about 'human hunters' from abroad have been made several times over the years, but the evidence gathered by Gavazzeni, which includes the testimony of a Bosnian military intelligence officer, is now being examined by Italian counter-terrorism prosecutor Alessandro Gobbis. The charge is murder.
The Bosnian officer apparently revealed that his Bosnian colleagues found out about the so-called safaris in late 1993 and then passed on the information to Italy's Sismi military intelligence in early 1994. Sismi found that 'safari' tourists would fly from the northern Italian border city of Trieste and then travel to the hills above Sarajevo.
Ezio Gavazzeni, who usually writes about terrorism and the mafia, first read about the sniper tours to Sarajevo three decades ago when Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported the story, but without firm evidence. He returned to the topic after seeing 'Sarajevo Safari', a documentary film from 2022 by Slovenian director Miran Zupanic.
An investigation in Bosnia appears to have stalled. Gavazzeni alleges that 'many' took part in the practice, 'at least a hundred' in total, with Italians paying 'a lot of money'—up to €100,000 (£88,000) in today's terms. Notably, the late Russian nationalist writer Eduard Limonov was filmed firing into Sarajevo from a heavy machine gun, touring hillside positions with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.
The fact Milan prosecutors had opened a case was first reported back in July when the Il Giornale website stated that Italians would arrive in the mountains by minivan, paying bribes to pass checkpoints under the guise of a humanitarian mission. Gavazzeni described their actions as the 'indifference of evil'. Prosecutors and police are currently identifying a list of witnesses as they strive to determine who may have been involved.
The Milan complaint was filed by journalist and novelist Ezio Gavazzeni, who describes a 'manhunt' by 'very wealthy people' with a passion for weapons who 'paid to be able to kill defenceless civilians' from Serb positions in the hills around Sarajevo. Different rates were charged to kill men, women or children, according to some reports.
More than 11,000 people died during the brutal four-year siege of Sarajevo. Yugoslavia was torn apart by war and the city was surrounded by Serb forces and subjected to constant shelling and sniper fire. Similar allegations about 'human hunters' from abroad have been made several times over the years, but the evidence gathered by Gavazzeni, which includes the testimony of a Bosnian military intelligence officer, is now being examined by Italian counter-terrorism prosecutor Alessandro Gobbis. The charge is murder.
The Bosnian officer apparently revealed that his Bosnian colleagues found out about the so-called safaris in late 1993 and then passed on the information to Italy's Sismi military intelligence in early 1994. Sismi found that 'safari' tourists would fly from the northern Italian border city of Trieste and then travel to the hills above Sarajevo.
Ezio Gavazzeni, who usually writes about terrorism and the mafia, first read about the sniper tours to Sarajevo three decades ago when Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported the story, but without firm evidence. He returned to the topic after seeing 'Sarajevo Safari', a documentary film from 2022 by Slovenian director Miran Zupanic.
An investigation in Bosnia appears to have stalled. Gavazzeni alleges that 'many' took part in the practice, 'at least a hundred' in total, with Italians paying 'a lot of money'—up to €100,000 (£88,000) in today's terms. Notably, the late Russian nationalist writer Eduard Limonov was filmed firing into Sarajevo from a heavy machine gun, touring hillside positions with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.
The fact Milan prosecutors had opened a case was first reported back in July when the Il Giornale website stated that Italians would arrive in the mountains by minivan, paying bribes to pass checkpoints under the guise of a humanitarian mission. Gavazzeni described their actions as the 'indifference of evil'. Prosecutors and police are currently identifying a list of witnesses as they strive to determine who may have been involved.
