Italian Investigation Revives ‘Sarajevo Safari’ Allegations Linked to Bosnian War

Italian Investigation Revives ‘Sarajevo Safari’ Allegations Linked to Bosnian War
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An ongoing judicial investigation in Italy has renewed attention to long-standing allegations known as the “Sarajevo Safari,” involving claims that foreign nationals traveled to the besieged Bosnian capital during the Bosnian War to participate in sniper attacks against civilians in exchange for money.

According to Italian media reports, prosecutors in Milan opened an investigation in November 2025 into several individuals suspected of involvement in killings committed during the Siege of Sarajevo between 1992 and 1996. The investigation was launched following the emergence of new witness testimony and documentary evidence, including statements from the former wife of one suspect, who alleged that he had told her he traveled to Bosnia during the war to shoot civilians.

The Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office said police seized evidence during searches carried out as part of the investigation. The inquiry followed a complaint filed by Italian journalist and novelist Ezio Gavazzeni, who called for an investigation into allegations of racially motivated killings during the conflict.

The investigation also draws on claims presented in the 2022 documentary Sarajevo Safari, which features testimony alleging that foreign nationals from several European countries, the United States, and Canada paid Bosnian Serb forces for access to sniper positions from which civilians were targeted during the siege. The allegations remain under investigation and have not been established by a court of law.

The Siege of Sarajevo, which lasted nearly four years, was one of the longest and deadliest episodes of the Bosnian War. More than 11,000 people, including thousands of civilians, were killed as a result of sustained shelling and sniper fire.