REPORT: ‘Sniper Tourists’ Paid $90K To Shoot Civilians In European Country

Wealthy “sniper tourists” allegedly paid tens-of-thousands of dollars to shoot civilians during “human safaris” in war-torn Sarajevo in the 1990’s, according to wild claims currently being investigated by Italian prosecutors.

The investigation was launched after an Italian writer alleged that he had uncovered evidence suggesting wealthy gun enthusiasts — dubbed “sniper tourists” –would pay Bosnian Serb forces for the opportunity to shoot civilians in the city during the four-year siege from April 1992 to February 1996. More than 10,000 people, many of them civilians, were killed by sniper fire and shelling during the Balkan Wars.

“There were Germans, French, English … people from all Western countries who paid large sums of money to be taken there to shoot civilians,” Ezio Gavazzeni, an investigative writer, told The Guardian. “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.”

Gavazzeni said he first read reports of the disturbing “human safari” killings in Italian media outlets in the 90’s, though he started to investigate the allegations at length after watching a 2022 documentary about a former Serb soldier who claimed foreigners would take shots at Sarajevo residents from the hills outside the city.

“Sarajevo Safari was the starting point,” he said. “I began a correspondence with the director and from there expanded my investigation until I collected enough material to present to the Milan prosecutors.”

He further claims that he consulted a former Bosnian intelligence officer as a key source in his inquiry.

A group of children playing outside during the winter of 1992-93 amidst the siege
Photo: Christian Maréchal

He claimed the Italian suspects would meet in the northern city of Trieste and travel to Belgrade, from where the Bosnian Serb soldiers would accompany them to the hills of Sarajevo. “There was a traffic of war tourists who went to there to shoot people,” he said. “I call it an indifference towards evil.”

Prosecutors in Milan are now following up on Gavazzeni’s claims in order to determine whether any Italian citizens were involved in the alleged killings.

Gavazzeni told The Guardian that he had already uncovered the identities of some of the Italians allegedly involved in massacres, adding that they are expected to be questioned by authorities in the coming weeks. The Bosnian Consulate in Milan said the Bosnian government would offer “total collaboration” with the probe.