“They paid huge amounts of money to shoot”
An organization that brings “traveler“, mostly from Triveneto, in the hills of Sarajevo, to be able to shoot civilians. A city, namely Sarajevo, is surrounded by mountains more than two thousand meters high, which then descend into gentle hills that become the theater of this horror. Tourists, say “weekend sniper“, they arrive here on Friday, stay two or three days, then leave on Sunday to return to normal life on Monday. For filming they paid huge sums of money. People dedicated to hunting, gun enthusiasts, members of the extreme right wing, but most importantly rich people who pay kill people. Departure was made from Trieste, on Friday afternoon, with a Serbian airline Aviogenex. The next stop is in Belgrade. Then from here, head to the hills of Sarajevo.
In an article from Press on March 30, 1995 there was talk of people “from several European (German and British) airports booking ‘war weekends’ for former Yugoslavia. This program includes the possibility of hunting large game. ‘They take you there, high up on a hill, protected by sandbags, or a concrete shield, you frame a shape in the viewfinder and photograph it.’ In another article at Corriere della Sera also from 30 March 1995 entitled “Holidays in Bosnia for war”, there is talk of “Italian tourists going to the former Yugoslavia to watch the fighting. And there are those who enjoy the killing”. But it is the documentary that explains these atrocities Sarajevo Safaris by a Slovenian director Miran Zupanič. “The film is about rich foreigners who pay money to shoot civilians from military positions Republic of Srpska (The hospital) in Sarajevo was under siege in the 1990s”, we read Gavazzeni’s complaint.
“People from the Serbian service were also involved”
One of the key witnesses in the documentary says that “when the war started, he received a proposal from an American agency to traverse the country as a fake journalist. By traveling as a “journalist”, he obtained a lot of information and learned about “human hunter“who came to Sarajevo”. These were foreigners, some sources speak of Americans, Canadians and Russians, but also Italians, who were willing to pay to play war. In the documentary there is another witness, a former Bosnian military intelligence officer, who speaks about the testimony of a captured Serb soldier. He reportedly told her that he personally witnessed the transport of one of the “hunters.” “At that time – said the former officer – I worked in the military intelligence service of the Bosnian army (ARBiH). We share information with officials Earthquake (now Aisi) in Sarajevo because there were indications that a tourist group of snipers – hunters had departed from Trieste.”
Customers, we learn from the source Finishedthey were of course very wealthy people “financially capable of taking on adrenaline-fueled challenges.” It seems there is also an owner aesthetic clinic from Milan. Real”human safari“, illegal and very expensive. “What is certain – continues the former officer – groups of hunters gathered in Trieste and from there arrived in Serbia, then from Serbia to Sarajevo. What we know about the operation is that it lasted quite a long time (probably from 1993 to 1995), required significant logistics (transportation by plane from Trieste, helicopters and vehicles from Serbia through the war zone to Sarajevo), and that a high level of secrecy was achieved and the organization was excellent. closed.However, 007 Bosnia believed that the Serbian State Security Service (now BIA) was behind everything and that the Serbian Military Intelligence Service (KOS) was also involved with the help of local commanders in the occupied territories.
“Those sniper tourists are very rich”
But what is the profile of the “sniper tourist”? In the correspondence between Gavazzeni and the former Bosnian officer, the former Bosnian officer answered the author’s question as follows: “A passionate hunter who has tried all types of classic (legal) safaris and has all the trophies, and then for the needs adrenaline also looking for it human head as a trophy; someone who loves guns and men at the same time psychopath; an ex-soldier who can’t stop after being on several battlefields; a sadistic type who experiments with ways to hurt others. After all – he continued – they all belonged to a group of wealthy and possibly influential people in their community. They have legal resources (lawyers) to protect themselves from possible investigations, but also political influence to hinder possible investigations.” According to the former official, although the safari has become known, “not a single perpetrator has been identified or prosecuted. Furthermore, even today, witnesses still experience pressure from the Serbian services to keep the entire operation secret. For example, during the preparation of the film, an interview was scheduled with a helicopter pilot who transported the “hunter” from Belgrade to BiH – Bosnia-Herzegovina ed. – but before filming he surrendered, because BIA agents threatened to kill his entire family”.
After the release of the Slovenian director’s film, Benjamina KaricMayor of Sarajevo for 2021 to 2024, on September 20, 2022, filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office of Bosnia–Herzegovina. “Wealthy foreigners – he wrote – who would pay certain compensation, were allowed and authorized to shoot civilians in parts of the city that were free from military positions in the area. Republic of Srpska. The victims were civilians, innocent people passing by, who were about to take water and bread, found themselves under sniper fire from these cruel foreigners”. According to an unnamed Slovenian secret service officer, who witnessed the incident, “for shooting a child with a sniper he was even given a punishment. higher monetary compensation”.
