Sarajevo Sniper-Safari: The Bloody Story of Sniper Tourists and Human Hunting in the Heart of Europe
- Teo Drinkovic
- 10 minutes ago
- 5 min read
A Monstrous Balkan Crime: Foreigners Paid for a Human Sniper-Safari” in Besieged Sarajevo in the 1990s — Serbian President Vučić Allegedly Involved
Introduction
Everyone knows war brings killing, torture, rape, and crimes of every imaginable kind. Yet what unfolded in the occupied, exhausted Sarajevo of the 1990s sounds unreal, something ripped straight from a fever-dream horror script, the kind Hollywood would consider too grotesque to film.
But after new evidence surfaced and was delivered to Italian prosecutors, the threads finally began to unravel, exposing what took place during the so-called “Sniper Safaris” organized by Serbian occupation forces in Bosnia. There are even photos and videos pointing to the alleged involvement of Serbia’s current president, Aleksandar Vučić.
For large sums of money, they brought “people”, if such a word can even be used, to their sniper positions so they could shoot at civilians in besieged Sarajevo, hunting them like animals. According to some sources, there was even a printed leaflet labeled Sniper Safari, listing prices for women, small children, adult men, and others.
Sarajevo Sniper Safari
During the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s, sniper rifles terrorized civilians day and night. For years, the idea that wealthy foreigners were paying to shoot at civilians was considered an urban legend. But recent investigations in Milan revived the horrifying allegations: that thrill-seeking outsiders paid Serbian forces for a chance to fire from sniper nests overlooking the city “for fun.” theguardian.com
This disturbing grey zone of wartime terror, labelled a “sniper safari” by the media, is explored in the documentary Sarajevo Safari and described in the book Vedran and the Firefighters. Survivors testify, including American firefighter John Jordan, who even spoke before the Hague Tribunal. Yet despite extensive evidence, numerous witnesses from military and intelligence circles, and sworn testimony from Jordan, no one has ever been prosecuted for these crimes. Wikipedia
In a city crushed under siege, civilians moving between shattered apartment blocks were exposed to constant gunfire. But this particular horror, the organized, deliberate “sniper hunt”, remains one of the most shocking revelations, even decades later.
Foreign Snipers, Local Guides
According to claims highlighted in the investigation, groups of foreign “sniper tourists” arrived from abroad, escorted by local Serbian guides.
Wealthy, respectable Europeans dressed in camouflage were transported by bus and plane to the surrounding hills, sometimes under the guise of “humanitarian missions.” With a single pull of the trigger, they ended the lives of women, children, and elderly civilians in Sarajevo.
Various reports, including declassified CIA documents, mentioned foreign volunteers on Serbian positions, but this grotesque form of war tourism is being confirmed only now, thirty years later.
The Death Price List: How Much Does a Human Life Cost?
The story becomes horrifyingly concrete when we reach the alleged price list. Speculation claims that children were the most expensive targets.
According to witness statements, the price for killing a single child was 100 million Italian lire (roughly $100,000). Adult men in uniform were cheaper. Women were “more affordable,” and elderly civilians could supposedly be killed for free.
A list like this reveals the true depth of depravity. It transforms war — already brutal — into a slaughterhouse powered by money.
Total casualties: 11,541 civilians were killed during the siege.
It’s estimated that up to 300 snipers operated around the city daily.
At least 255 civilians were confirmed killed by snipers, including 60 children.
More than 14,000 children were wounded, and no sniper was ever individually prosecuted. theguardian.com
Each number is a quiet epitaph for a life taken without mercy. These were mothers, children, elderly — gunned down like clay pigeons, for profit.
The Killing of One-Year-Old Irina: An Innocent Life Cut Short
Sarajevo’s streets and markets became death zones. Snipers chose their targets deliberately: children playing outside schools, women buying groceries, elderly people collecting water.
One of the most heartbreaking stories is the killing of one-year-old Irina Čišić. She celebrated her first birthday in October 1993. Four days later, she was shot by a sniper while walking with her mother in Ciglane. Her father still asks the question every parent fears: Why did someone choose to shoot a half-meter-tall infant instead of the adult walking with her?
His anguish echoes across Sarajevo, revived again by new evidence and testimonies about the “sniper safari.” DW.com
The Čišić family with little Irina, a one-year-old victim of a sniper!
Documentaries and Testimonies Reveal the Crime
Concrete evidence of “sniper tourism” first surfaced in 2022 in the documentary Sarajevo Safari. Slovenian director Miran Županič recorded the testimony of an anonymous witness, an American corporate employee, who confirmed that wealthy foreigners paid to shoot civilians from hilltop positions. Wikipedia
Around the same time, the book Vedran and the Firefighters described similar events. In it, American firefighter John Jordan recounts what he witnessed while assisting local firefighters in Sarajevo.
John Jordan’s Testimony Before the Hague Tribunal
When pressed by attorneys about whether he could reliably distinguish foreigners from locals, Jordan said:
“You can assume from my statement that I am a trained observer. You can tell when someone unfamiliar with an environment is being guided, literally by the hand, by people who know the area perfectly. That’s how the term ‘sniper tourist’ emerged. These men weren’t from there, nor did they carry the weapons typically used in the region.”
He added:
“I never saw them open fire. I saw them being taken to well-known sniper posts. But it was obvious what was happening. Locals escorted outsiders through sniper positions. Their clothing and the weapons they carried made it clear who they were.”
He concluded that he saw such individuals only in positions controlled by the Army of Republika Srpska.
The Milan Investigation: Hunting the Hunters
Inspired by the documentary and his own research, Italian journalist Ezio Gavazzeni submitted evidence to Milan prosecutors. He claims to have uncovered extremist networks in Italy, in Trieste, Turin, and Milan, that facilitated travel for Italians to sniper positions above Sarajevo from 1993 to 1995.
Groups from wealthy Milan suburbs allegedly traveled under the guise of humanitarian aid, dressed in hunting gear and carrying long-range rifles. Among extremist circles, this “package tour” was reportedly no secret. elpais.com
Milan’s prosecutors opened an investigation for “premeditated murder with exceptionally cruel motives” against unknown suspects. For the first time in Europe, a formal legal probe is examining whether people actually paid to shoot civilians in Sarajevo.
The Vučić Allegations: Accusations and Denials
Amid the unfolding scandal, the name of Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić surfaced.
Croatian journalist Domagoj Margetić alleges that Vučić, then a young volunteer, was present at a sniper position and participated in selling the “Sarajevo Safari” experience. He even provided photos and videos, including footage allegedly showing Vučić holding a weapon above Sarajevo.
Vučić has rejected all accusations, claiming he never handled a rifle and that the object in the videos is a camera tripod, not a sniper rifle. He announced lawsuits against foreign media, including The Guardian and Daily Mail. theguardian.com
Serbia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs labeled the claims “sensationalist fabrications” aimed at damaging Serbia’s reputation. To date, no official charges link Vučić to sniper terrorism. Still, the footage's existence remains an unexplained stain.
Justice and Memory
As Milan’s prosecutors try to identify and charge foreign participants, the world is forced to confront one of the darkest chapters of the Sarajevo siege. Some Sarajevans died as if they were game animals at a grotesque sniper picnic.
And as one Sarajevo woman put it: when you realize that people who looked cultured and respectable came on weekends to kill your children for money, you understand you’re facing “the darkest thing the human mind can imagine.”
Even with a formal investigation underway, decades have passed, and true justice remains elusive. European courts have not issued a single verdict for this form of “war tourism.”
Yet simply acknowledging these crimes awakens sorrow and solidarity. The cruelty inflicted on civilians, especially children, is a scar that will not fade. As Sarajevo’s mayor said, they were “literally hunted like animals.”
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