August M
Italian prosecutors are examining shocking claims that wealthy foreign visitors paid to take part in so-called “human safaris” during the siege of Sarajevo, a city already scarred by years of sniper fire and shelling. The allegations, first highlighted in recent investigations and a 2022 documentary, have reignited painful memories and renewed demands for accountability over one of Europe’s darkest wartime chapters.
New and deeply disturbing claims from Italian prosecutors have reignited global attention on the brutality of the Bosnian War.
According to reporting from La Repubblica and The Express, prosecutors in Italy are probing whether up to 100 individuals — many described as far-right sympathisers from Europe, the US and Russia — paid for access to sniper positions during the 1990s siege.
The claims suggest that children were among the most targeted victims, with their deaths allegedly given a “premium” value.
Sarajevo, which endured almost four years of relentless bombardment and sniper attacks, lost more than 10,000 civilians between 1992 and 1996.
Streets like the infamous “Sniper Alley” became deadly corridors where residents risked their lives simply by stepping outside.
A city shaped by trauma
Experts quoted in The Express emphasised that Sarajevo’s geography, surrounded by mountains, offered ideal vantage points for snipers and allegedly made access easier for those paying for illicit killing opportunities.
They noted that any such operation would likely have required substantial coordination, transport, weapon access and collaboration with local fighters.
The siege also left deep psychological scars, with many residents grieving betrayals by people who had once been neighbours or friends.
Professor Kenneth Morrison told The Express that this sense of violated trust still shapes daily life: “You can never really fully trust again.”
Search for justice
As Italian authorities work to determine whether the alleged “human safaris” truly occurred, many in Sarajevo see the investigation as a long-overdue step.
Survivors continue to contend with the belief that many wartime crimes were never fully prosecuted.
For those accused of treating the suffering of a besieged city as a grotesque holiday excursion, legal accountability — if the claims are proven — may finally be approaching.
