Tourists accused of 'paying thousands' to shoot innocent civilians in ‘human safari trip’

It's been alleged that wealthy tourists paid upwards of $90,000 (£70,000) to shoot innocent people during 'human safari' trips to Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital, in the 1990s.

Rich gun enthusiasts are accused of travelling to the capital city for 'sniper tourism' during its four-year siege by Serb-Bosnian militias amid the Bosnian War.

For those unfamiliar, more than 10,000 people were killed in Sarajevo by snipers and shelling between the years of 1992 and 1996 during a brutal four-year siege, after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia.

The complaint was filed by journalist Ezio Gavazzeni, who described what happened as a 'manhunt' by 'very wealthy people' who were passionate about weapons and 'paid to be able to kill defenceless civilians' from Serb positions in the hills around Sarajevo.

Harrowing details and news reports are emerging surrounding the claims, and according to some reports, different monetary rates were charged to kill men, women or children.

The public prosecutor's office in Milan has opened an investigation into alleged 'human safaris' in the 1990s (David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

As per the BBC, the public prosecutor's office in Milan has opened an investigation into these horrifying claims that Italian citizens, as well as others from around the world, travelled to Bosnia-Herzegovina to take part in these 'sniper safaris'.

These rich people and groups allegedly paid members of the Bosnian Serb army to be part of these trips.

According to the Guardian, during the siege, the snipers were the most feared element because they would pick off unsuspecting people on the streets at random, including children

The journalist who filed the legal complaint, Gavazzeni, explained he first heard about the alleged 'sniper tourists' when he read reports about them in the Italian press in the 1990s.

He then watched Sarajevo Safari, a 2022 documentary by the Slovenian director Miran Zupanič, which prompted him to investigate further.

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

The legal complaint was initially filed by a journalist who had investigated the matter (David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

He claimed 'many, many, many Italians' were alleged to have been involved, adding that there were also reportedly 'Germans, French, English … people from all western countries who paid large sums of money to be taken there to shoot civilians'.

The journalist added: "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."

Going into details, the Guardian reports that the journalist claimed the Italian suspects would meet in the city of Trieste and travel to Belgrade.

From there, they would reportedly be accompanied by Bosnian Serb soldiers to the hills of Sarajevo.

He said: "There was a traffic of war tourists who went to there to shoot people. I call it an indifference towards evil.”

Gavazenni also claims to have identified some of the individuals alleged to have been involved, and they are reportedly expected to be questioned by the prosecutors in the coming weeks.