Italy Probes ‘War Tourists’ Who Allegedly Paid to Shoot Civilians During Sarajevo Siege

Prosecutors in Italy are investigating whether Italian nationals paid the Bosnian Serb army during the 1990s siege of Sarajevo for the chance to shoot civilians “for sport,” Italian media reported.

According to La Repubblica, Milan prosecutor Alessandro Gobbis has opened a voluntary manslaughter probe to identify Italians who, between 1993 and 1995, may have “paid to play war and kill defenceless civilians for fun.”

The paper said the unnamed suspects—described as wealthy, gun-enthusiast right-wing sympathisers—allegedly travelled from Trieste to Bosnia, where they were taken to sniper positions in the hills surrounding Sarajevo. There, they reportedly paid up to the equivalent of €100,000 per day to Bosnian Serb forces in exchange for the opportunity to fire at civilians below, according to Il Giornale, which first reported the existence of the investigation in July.

The Italian probe follows a complaint filed by journalist and writer Ezio Gavanezzi, who was contacted in August 2025 by former Sarajevo mayor Benjamina Karic. Karic had earlier filed a complaint in Bosnia in 2022 after the broadcast of Sarajevo Safari, a documentary by Slovenian filmmaker Miran Zupanic that exposed the alleged “war tourism” killings.

Speaking to La Repubblica, Gavanezzi estimated that at least 100 Italians were involved, while Il Giornale suggested the number could be twice as high, with additional participants from other countries.

Karic, writing on social media Tuesday, said she welcomed the Italian investigation. In her 2022 complaint—posted online—she said the documentary and witness testimony provided “reasonable suspicion” that members of the Bosnian Serb army organised paid “excursions” for wealthy foreigners. These visitors were allegedly allowed to use precision rifles from army positions overlooking Sarajevo, killing or injuring civilians, including children.

The siege of Sarajevo, which began in April 1992 and lasted nearly four years, remains the longest siege in modern warfare. Official figures say 11,541 people were killed and more than 50,000 wounded by Bosnian Serb forces.