Wealthy Tourists Allegedly Paid £100k to 'Hunt' Sarajevo Children in Twisted Human Safari Horror

In the grim legacy of Bosnian war atrocities, the Sarajevo human safari scandal has exploded anew, exposing how wealthy war tourists allegedly paid up to £80,000 ($104,000) for sniper tourism excursions to gun down civilians, including children, amid the Sarajevo siege snipers' terror from 1992 to 1996.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stands accused of direct participation in these VRS volunteers' depravities, fuelling outrage over child targeting siege tactics that claimed over 10,000 lives.

The Italian sniper probe, launched by Milan murder investigation prosecutors on 11 November 2025, promises to unearth truths long buried in the war's dark underbelly.

The Emergence of Sniper Tourism Allegations

Whispers of sniper tourism during the Sarajevo siege first surfaced in the 1990s, but exploded into public view with the 2022 documentary Sarajevo Safari, featuring harrowing testimonies from witnesses who observed elite foreigners paying handsomely for kills.

Former US Marine John Jordan testified at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on 6 July 2007 that he spotted non-local 'shooter tourists' in civilian-military attire, wielding hunting rifles ill-suited for urban combat, guided by Serb forces to vantage points overlooking 'Sniper Alley'. 'If an adult and child were walking together, the child would be shot,' Jordan recounted, highlighting deliberate cruelty in the child targeting siege.

Italian writer Ezio Gavazzeni, whose complaint sparked the Milan murder investigation, described participants as 'wealthy people... who paid to kill defenseless civilians', departing Trieste for Belgrade before helicoptering to Pale and sniper positions near Sarajevo.

Bosnian intelligence officer Edin Subašić, interrogating a captured Serb soldier, learned of 'weekend snipers' from Italy, Russia, and the US, with fees escalating for children—up to £88,000 ($135,050) per trip between 1993 and 1995.

The New York Post highlighted the horror on 12 November 2025, noting claims of $90,000 (£58,650) payments for such atrocities.

Vučić's Alleged Involvement and Fierce Denials

Croatian journalist Domagoj Margetić's letter to Milan prosecutors on 10 November 2025 accuses Vučić, then a Serbian Radical Party member, of joining and facilitating these sniper tourism forays as a VRS volunteer in the New Sarajevo Chetnik Detachment. Citing a 1993 video from the Jewish cemetery sniper nest, Margetić claims Vučić carried a rifle, not the 'umbrella' he insists it was.

In a 1994 Duga magazine interview, Vučić admitted volunteering in 'Serbian Sarajevo' to 'defend [the Serbians]', spending time at the cemetery. Vojislav Šešelj's 2013 Hague testimony corroborated Vučić's unit role under commander Slavko Aleksić, whose SRS volunteers held the site from April 1992 to September 1993.

Bosnia's Defence Minister Zukan Helez dismissed Vučić's 2021 Face TV denial—'I didn't shoot, but I was at Pale, doing my job'—asserting on 15 December 2024 that three VRS members confirmed seeing him fire on residents. 'His excuse... is a blatant lie,' Helez told The Sarajevo Times. Serbian lawyer Čedomir Stojković echoed on Facebook: 'Vučić absolutely certainly knew what was going on, and he was a part of it.'

Vučić rejected the claims on 21 November 2025 as 'I have never killed anyone, never wounded anyone...', vowing no role in the Bosnian war atrocities. Pressure mounts for a Belgrade probe, amid fears of impunity.

International Reactions and Calls for Justice

The Italian sniper probe has galvanised Sarajevo siege survivors, who on 18 November 2025 told Reuters they hope for accountability after decades of silence on human safari horrors. Prosecutor Alessandro Gobbis targets Italians for 1993-1995 killings, with Al Jazeera reporting flights from Trieste to sniper sites.

BBC coverage on 13 November 2025 detailed sums from £70,000 ($107,394), underscoring the Milan murder investigation's cruelty charges. Guardian analysis on 11 November 2025 linked groups from Italy, the US, and Canada to Serb soldiers enabling shots at residents. El País witnesses like Subašić stressed: 'The most shocking thing was each victim had a price.'

Sarajevo Safari director Miran Zupanič urged, 'These were certainly not ordinary people... seeking another thrill.' Global media amplify demands for transparency in the VRS volunteers' legacy.