Witness gives chilling account of ‘human safari’ where rich tourists allegedly paid $90K to shoot

Chilling details have surfaced about the alleged “human safari” that took place during the siege of Sarajevo, as an intelligence officer who says he witnessed the shocking practice has spoken out.

The claims, which sound almost unbelievable because of how strange and cruel they are, describe wealthy foreign visitors allegedly paying huge sums of money to fire at civilians trapped in the city during the 1992–1996 Bosnian War. Investigators in Italy and Bosnia are now examining the allegations with fresh urgency, as reported by the BBC.

So, what exactly did this witness see?

The anonymous Slovenian intelligence operative, who worked with the US during the conflict, appeared in the 2022 documentary Sarajevo Safari. He explained that Serbian fighters escorted him around several of their sniper positions overlooking the besieged city.

From these hills and high-rise buildings, apparently, gunmen routinely targeted Sarajevo’s residents, but what he saw beside them shocked him. He said that he met foreign “tourist shooters” who had reportedly paid up to $90,000 each to take turns firing at civilians.

According to his testimony, rifles and binoculars were deliberately set up for the visitors, almost like a guided hunting trip. “They were not like your average people,” he said in the documentary. Their shooting skills, he added, were “remarkable.”

‘That was the first time I witnessed the Sarajevo Safari up close’

At one sniper position, he said he watched a wealthy visitor aim at a man walking down the street. He said that after pulling the trigger, the tourist reacted with excitement, followed by other guests eagerly stepping forward for their turn.

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He also said that he witnessed one visitor point his weapon at a child holding their mother’s hand. That was when he realised the true scale of the cruelty. He explained in the film that tourists were charged more to shoot at children.

“For certain sums of money, strangers would come in to shoot at the surrounded citizens of Sarajevo,” he said. Despite being offered the chance to fire the rifle for free, he refused.

Credit: Fehim Demir/Shutterstock

How did civilians even cope with this?

During the siege, residents had no choice but to adapt to daily sniper fire. Streets exposed to gunmen became notorious danger zones. Locals left warnings for one another and developed ways of moving to reduce their chances of being shot.

People would “pause and change pace when running to confuse the sniper across the street,” the intelligence officer explained.

More than 5,000 civilians were killed in the siege. And over 13,000 people in total lost their lives between 1992 and 1996, according to the BBC.

Is anyone actually investigating this now?

Yes. Italian journalist Ezio Gavazzeni recently submitted a detailed report, including testimony from a Bosnian military intelligence officer, to prosecutors in Milan.

That officer claims Bosnian forces discovered the alleged safaris in 1993 and passed the information to Italy’s military intelligence service in 1994. According to Ansa news agency, the officer was apparently told, “We’ve put a stop to it and there won’t be any more safaris.” After two to three months, the trips allegedly stopped.

Speaking to Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper, Gavazzeni claimed “many” participated in the crimes, estimating “at least a hundred” people, with Italians reportedly paying “a lot of money,” around €100,000 (£88,000) in today’s terms.

Italian counter-terrorism prosecutor Alessandro Gobbis is now trying to determine whether Italian nationals took part. If confirmed, they could be charged with murder.

According to the New York Post, speaking on behalf of the Bosnian government, a spokesperson from the Bosnian Consulate in Milan said, “We are impatient to discover the truth about such a cruel matter in order to close a chapter of history. I am in possession of certain information I will be sharing with the investigators.”

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Featured image via Fehim Demir/Shutterstock.