Milan Prosecutors Probe Alleged 'Sniper Safaris' in Besieged Sarajevo

Milan prosecutors open inquiry into disturbing wartime allegations

Italian prosecutors in Milan have launched an inquiry after journalist Ezio Gavazzeni delivered a 17-page dossier alleging that wealthy foreigners paid to take part in so-called "sniper safaris" that targeted civilians during the 1992–1996 siege of Sarajevo.

Gavazzeni's document claims roughly 100 "very wealthy people" traveled to positions on hills overlooking the city—areas held by Serb forces—where they allegedly fired on defenseless men, women and children while Sarajevo endured sustained shelling and sniper fire. The dossier includes testimony attributed to a Bosnian military intelligence officer and notes that Bosnian intelligence reportedly alerted Italian services about the episodes in 1993–1994.

Investigative leads and reported details

• Gavazzeni says the alleged episodes lasted three or four months. Italy's Sismi military intelligence reportedly recorded accounts that tourists flew from Trieste to reach the hills around Sarajevo to take part in the alleged activities.
• The claims resurfaced after the 2022 documentary Sarajevo Safari by Slovenian director Miran Zupanic, which alleges participants from several countries paid as much as $116,000 to shoot at civilians. Zupanic told Balkan Insight he filmed a witness he considered credible.
• Following the dossier, Milan counter-terrorism prosecutor Alessandro Gobbis is treating the matter as a possible murder investigation as authorities seek to determine whether criminal killings occurred and who might be responsible.

"We are talking about people who love guns who perhaps go to shooting ranges or on safaris in Africa," Gavazzeni wrote in his report, characterizing the alleged motivation as recreational rather than political or religious.

Similar accusations have circulated previously, and some details—such as a report that word of the alleged safaris first emerged from a captured Serbian volunteer and interrogation documents—have been reported in earlier accounts. Serbian veterans have strongly denied the documentary's claims, calling them an "absolute and heinous lie."

Context and current status

The siege of Sarajevo lasted from 1992 to 1996 and resulted in more than 11,000 deaths amid the collapse of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian war. Prosecutors in Milan say they will investigate the dossier's allegations to assess the credibility of the testimony and determine whether there is sufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges.

Note: These are allegations under investigation; they have not been proven in court.