More than three decades after the harrowing siege of Sarajevo, shocking allegations have emerged that Italian tourists paid large sums of money to join so-called ‘human safari’ trips, shooting at innocent civilians in the war-torn city.
Sniper Attacks on Civilians in Sarajevo
Prosecutors in Milan are probing claims that fat Italians, some with ties to far-right groups, paid up to £70,000 to the Bosnian Serb army for weekend excursions to Sarajevo during the Bosnian War in the early 1990s.
According to court forms, these excursionists allegedly took guns and rifles to rooftops and fired at unarmed civilians. Disturbingly, there were claims that they paid to target children.
During the siege, Sarajevo was left in a state of constant terror. Main expressways such as Ulica Zmaja od Bosne and Meša Selimović Boulevard were nicknamed ‘ gun alley’ due to the grim gunfire.
residents endured not only the trouble of gunners but also cut-offs to electricity, gas, and water, making daily survival a constant struggle.
Ezio Gavazzeni, a Milan-based journalist, said: “We are talking about wealthy people, with reputations, businessmen, who during the siege of Sarajevo paid to kill unarmed civilians. They left Trieste for a manhunt and then returned to their respectable daily lives.”
Foreign Role in Bosnian War Crimes
Prosecutors believe there may have been more than 100 Italians who travelled to Sarajevo during the conflict, many of whom could be called to give evidence in the trial.
Bosnian intelligence reportedly had proof of Italians operating in the hills surrounding the city during the siege.
Dag Dumrukcic, the Bosnian consul in Milan, told La Repubblica: “We are eager to uncover the truth about such a cruel matter and settle accounts with the past. I am aware of some information that I will contribute to the investigation.”
The siege of Sarajevo ended in 1995, leaving nearly 14,000 people dead, including more than 5,400 civilians.
High-profile numbers such as Radovan Karadzic, former Bosnian Serb political leader, and Stanislav Galic, commander of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps, were latterly convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity at The Hague.
Karadzic is serving his life judgment in the UK, while Galic was transferred to Germany.
The arising allegations have reignited attention on the horrors of the Bosnian War and the siege of Sarajevo, pressing the long-lasting trauma foisted on the megacity’s residents and raising new questions about responsibility for foreign citizens allegedly sharing in the atrocities.
