by InTrieste
Prosecutors in Milan have opened an investigation into allegations that Italian citizens paid to travel to Bosnia in the early 1990s and shoot civilians during the Siege of Sarajevo, a chapter of the Bosnian War long marked by indiscriminate violence against the city’s residents.
The inquiry, led by prosecutor Alessandro Gobbis, follows reports in Italian newspapers Il Giorno and La Repubblica that individuals from Italy allegedly joined Bosnian Serb forces and paid to fire on civilians “for fun.” Prosecutors are examining possible charges of voluntary homicide aggravated by cruelty and motives deemed particularly reprehensible under Italian law.
The allegations center on what media reports have described as “weekend snipers” — purported far-right sympathizers with a fascination for weapons who allegedly traveled from northern Italy, particularly Trieste, to positions in the hills around Sarajevo. From there, they were said to have taken part in shootings during the city’s nearly four-year siege, which claimed more than 11,000 lives between 1992 and 1996.
The case began with a complaint filed in January by the journalist and writer Ezio Gavazzeni, supported by two attorneys and former magistrate Guido Salvini. Their 17-page filing compiles witness statements and communications with Bosnian sources who, as early as 1993, reported the presence of Italian nationals in sniper positions around the city.
Among the materials cited is an email exchange with a former official from Bosnia’s military intelligence services, who claims to have alerted Italy’s foreign intelligence agency — then known as SISMI and now called AISE — to the presence of at least five Italian sharpshooters. One witness reportedly identified Italians from Turin, Milan, and Trieste.
The complaint also references alleged coordination with Serbian security networks, purported logistical assistance from companies in the former Yugoslavia, and documents suggesting that those paying to take part in the shootings were categorized by the type of target — civilians, military personnel, and even children.
One of the files attached to the complaint is the 2022 documentary Sarajevo Safari by Slovenian filmmaker Miran Zupanič, which explores accounts of wealthy foreigners traveling to Sarajevo to fire on civilians during the siege. The film includes anonymous testimony asserting that some of those individuals were Italian.
Investigators in Milan will seek to determine the credibility of these accounts and the authenticity of the referenced documents. For now, prosecutors have not announced any formal suspects, nor have they begun interviews, according to Italian media. The preliminary inquiry is expected to focus initially on verifying the allegations and identifying potential witnesses.
If substantiated, the case would add a chilling dimension to the history of the Bosnian conflict, suggesting that for some outsiders, Sarajevo’s destruction became an illicit form of “war tourism.
