Italy probes Sarajevo ‘sniper safaris’: What were they, who was involved?

Italy’s nationalist prosecutor’s bureau has opened an probe into claims that Italians travelled connected play “sniper safaris” to Sarajevo to sprout astatine citizens during the Bosnian-Serb army’s siege connected the metropolis that killed much than 11,000 radical betwixt 1992 and 1996.

The alleged “safaris” – a grotesque notation to expeditions to hunt oregon observe chaotic animals – took spot arsenic the Bosnian-Serb unit besieged the metropolis successful what became the longest siege connected a metropolis successful modern European history.

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Milan’s investigation, headed by authoritative Alessandro Gobbis, was launched aft writer and novelist Ezio Gavazzeni, successful collaboration with lawyers Nicola Brigida and erstwhile justice Guido Salvini, filed a ineligible ailment of “murder aggravated by cruelty and despicable motives” against alleged groups of Italians travelling to Sarajevo to articulation the trips.

According to Italian media, investigators anticipation to way down radical who participated successful the alleged “safaris”, successful summation to 5 men who person already been identified successful Gacazzeni’s suit.

Gavazzeni, who has turned each his grounds implicit to prosecutors, told the Italian quality outlet La Repubblica connected Tuesday that his suit “exposes a portion of nine that hides its information nether the carpet”.

“Because we’re talking astir affluent radical with reputations, entrepreneurs, who during the siege of Sarajevo paid to beryllium capable to termination defenceless civilians,” helium added.

Here’s what we cognize astir the alleged “sniper safaris”.

Signs appeare implicit the besieged metropolis of Sarajevo to alert radical to the whereabouts of snipers, connected Monday, July 13, 1992 [Martin Nangle/AP]

How did sniper safaris work?

Between 1992 and 1996, Italian citizens and others who were chiefly weapon enthusiasts would stitchery successful Trieste, northwestern Italy, connected the borderline with erstwhile Yugoslavia connected Fridays for a play of “hunting”. It remains unclear who arranged the trips for the alleged groups to take.

Participants would past allegedly beryllium flown by the Yugoslav/Serbian Aviogenex hose to the hills surrounding Sarajevo, wherever they would wage Bosnian-Serb militias loyal to President Radovan Karadzic, who was aboriginal convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal for the erstwhile Yugoslavia successful 2016 and sentenced to beingness successful situation aft a 2019 appeal, to sprout astatine citizens.

According to La Repubblica, these “tourists” paid up to 100,000 euros ($116,000), adjusted for existent ostentation rates and currency change, arsenic the euro was not introduced until 1999, to articulation trips to Sarajevo to perpetrate the killings.

Gavazzeni claims that participants would beryllium fixed a terms database for the benignant of termination that foreigners would wage for who they wanted to target, with children costing the most, past men, women and aged people, who could beryllium killed escaped of charge.

“[A participant] near Trieste for the manhunt. And past helium returned and continued his beingness arsenic usual, respectable successful everyone’s eyes,” Gavazzeni said.

“People with a passionateness for weapons, to indulge, who similar to spell to furniture with a rifle, with wealth astatine their disposal and the close contacts of facilitators betwixt Italy and Serbia. It’s the indifference of evil: becoming God and remaining unpunished,” helium added.

Gavazzeni’s 17-page filing includes the grounds of Edin Subasic, a Bosnian subject quality serviceman who claims helium and immoderate colleagues informed Italy’s subject quality agency, Sismi, astir reports of Italians who would alert from Trieste to Sarajevo to instrumentality portion successful aboriginal 1994. In his testimony, helium stated that the Italian quality work told him it had “put a stop” to the trips a fewer months later.

The Sismi study said it had discovered the departure points successful Trieste and had interrupted the operation.

Another witnesser cited successful the filing gave Gavazzeni details of 3 men who are present being investigated, who travel from Turin, Milan and Trieste. According to a Sismi report, cited successful the lawsuit, the antheral from Milan who took portion successful the shootings successful 1993 was the proprietor of a backstage integrative country clinic.

Former Sarajevo politician Benjamina Karic besides sent a lawsuit record to the Milan Prosecutor’s Office connected these “rich foreigners engaged successful inhumane activities”, Italian quality agency, ANSA, reported.

Carrying his dog, a lad sprints crossed a cardinal intersection, which is sometimes targeted by snipers, connected Thursday, April 20, 1995, successful Sarajevo [David Brauchli/AP]

Who knew astir these ‘safaris’?

Serbia has denied immoderate engagement successful the killings, but investigators judge that Serbian quality services were alert of the tourer trips.

According to grounds from Subasic, the Bosnian subject quality serviceman who is expected to beryllium 1 of the archetypal radical summoned by the prosecutor’s office, the mode that the trips were organised with the hose bearer pointed to the Serbian State Security Service being “behind it all”, ANSA reported.

While Sismi was informed astir the archetypal trip, the authoritative told La Repubblica it was ne'er discussed again betwixt the Bosnian and Italian spy agencies.

The Bosnian consul successful Milan, Dag Dumrukcic, told La Repubblica connected Tuesday that his authorities was moving successful “full practice successful the investigation”.

“We are anxious to uncover the information of specified a cruel matter and settee accounts with the past. I person immoderate accusation that I volition walk connected to the investigators,” Dumruckic added.

What bash survivors of Sarajevo say?

Dzemil Hodzic, 42, who grew up successful Sarajevo successful the 1990s and was 9 erstwhile the siege began, is the laminitis of the Sniper Alley Photo project, which archives photographs taken during the siege. He told Al Jazeera that the findings came arsenic nary astonishment to him, arsenic the weekends were ever “especially dangerous” successful Sarajevo astatine the time.

Hodzic said determination was ever “information circulating astir the radical from extracurricular coming to sprout astatine us”.

“It is simply a well-known fact, but, unfortunately, it means thing erstwhile the murderers and snipers who were shooting astatine america for 4 years are astatine ample and we spot that our Bosnian prosecutor’s bureau is doing thing astir it. I conscionable anticipation that this lawsuit from Italy won’t vanish from our media abstraction and that we volition really person immoderate affirmative results,” helium said.

“My member was killed by a Serb sniper portion helium was playing tennis successful our neighbourhood. We volition ne'er cognize if it was 1 of those who paid to bash so,” helium added.

Did radical from different countries besides participate?

It is believed that citizens of aggregate countries took part. In 2022, Bosnian movie manager Miran Zupanic’s documentary, Sarajevo Safari, investigated affluent foreigners who had participated, including immoderate from the United States and Russia.

One notable illustration was Russian nationalist writer and person Eduard Limonov, who was filmed during a documentary connected the Bosnian warfare by Pawel Pawlikowski successful 1992, shooting a machinegun towards the metropolis of Sarajevo portion personally accompanied by Karadzic.

Moreover, successful 2007, erstwhile US Marine John Jordan testified to the International Criminal Tribunal for the erstwhile Yugoslavia that “tourist shooters” had travel to Sarajevo.

“It was intelligibly evident that the idiosyncratic being led by men who were acquainted with the crushed was wholly unfamiliar with the ground, and his mode of formal and the weapons they carried led maine to judge they were tourer shooters,” Jordan told the court.