Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into claims that wealthy foreigners paid tens of thousands of dollars to shoot civilians during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s, an allegation described [1] as one of the most disturbing to emerge from the Balkan Wars.
The probe was launched after Italian investigative writer Ezio Gavazzeni alleged that affluent gun enthusiasts, referred to as “sniper tourists,” paid Bosnian Serb forces up to $90,000 to take part in so-called “human safaris,” targeting residents of the besieged city between 1992 and 1996.
NEW: Italian prosecutors are investigating claims that wealthy Italians and other foreigners paid to travel to Bosnia in the early 1990s for “sniper safaris,” shooting civilians in besieged Sarajevo from Serb-held positions.
The allegation—based on new testimony gathered by… pic.twitter.com/MekbsbtuMY [2]
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 12, 2025 [3]
Additional fees were allegedly paid to shoot children, according to the claims first reported by The Guardian.
More than 10,000 people were killed in Sarajevo by sniper fire and shelling during the four-year siege, one of the longest and most devastating conflicts in modern European history.
Gavazzeni said his research suggests that some of those responsible were not soldiers, but civilians who traveled to Bosnia for sport.
“There were Germans, French, English … people from all Western countries who paid large sums of money to be taken there to shoot civilians,” Gavazzeni told reporters.
“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 encountered reports of so-called sniper tourism in Italian media during the 1990s but began investigating the claims more thoroughly after viewing a 2022 documentary.
The film featured a former Bosnian Serb soldier who alleged that foreigners joined combatants in the hills surrounding Sarajevo to shoot at civilians trapped in the city below.
His current findings reportedly rely on testimony from a former Bosnian intelligence officer who claimed to have firsthand knowledge of foreign nationals participating in the attacks.
Gavazzeni said he has identified several individuals, including Italian citizens, who may have been involved.
Prosecutors in Milan are now examining the material and plan to question some of the individuals named in his investigation in the coming weeks.
The Milan prosecutor’s office has not publicly commented on the scope of the investigation but confirmed it is reviewing evidence related to possible war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law.
Authorities are focused on whether any Italian citizens directly participated in sniper activities during the siege.
The Bosnian Consulate in Milan issued a statement welcoming the investigation and pledging cooperation.
“We are impatient to discover the truth about such a cruel matter in order to close a chapter of history,” a consulate spokesperson said.
“I am in possession of certain information I will be sharing with the investigators.”
While the allegations have not yet been independently verified, the case has drawn renewed attention to the atrocities committed during the siege of Sarajevo, where snipers routinely targeted civilians, including women and children, from elevated positions around the city.
Gavazzeni’s claims, if confirmed, would represent one of the most shocking revelations linked to the conflict, suggesting that foreign civilians may have paid to take part in war crimes for sport.
Italian prosecutors have indicated that the investigation will continue in coordination with Bosnian authorities and international legal bodies.