ROME: Prosecutors in Italy are investigating possible Italian snipers who may have paid the Bosnian Serb army during the 1990s siege of Sarajevo to be allowed to shoot civilians for sport, local media reported.
According to La Repubblica daily, the investigation opened by Milan prosecutor Alessandro Gobbis for voluntary manslaughter seeks to identify Italians who between 1993 and 1995 may have “paid to play war and kill defenseless civilians ‘for fun.’“
The newspaper said the unidentified suspects it dubbed “war tourists” were mostly wealthy and gun-loving right-wing sympathizers, who departed from Trieste, in northern Italy, before being taken to the hills surrounding Sarajevo.
There, the would-be snipers paid up to the equivalent of 100,000 euros per day to the Bosnian Serb forces to shoot at civilians below them, according to the daily Il Giornale, the first newspaper to report, in July, that an investigation in Italy had been opened.
The investigation follows a complaint filed by Italian journalist and writer Ezio Gavanezzi, who was contacted in August 2025 by the former mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karic.
She had filed her own complaint in Bosnia in 2022 after the broadcast of the documentary “Sarajevo Safari” by Slovenian director Miran Zupanic, which revealed the crimes.
In an interview with La Repubblica, Gavanezzi estimated there were at least 100 Italians who participated, with Il Giornale citing at least double that — on top of foreigners from other countries.
On social media Tuesday, Karic said she welcomed the Italian investigation.
In her 2022 complaint, a copy of which she posted on social media, Karic said the documentary, along with witness statements, point to “reasonable suspicion” that members of the Bosnian Serb army “organized ‘excursions’ for wealthy foreigners.”
They “had the opportunity to fire precision rifles from (army) positions above the city of Sarajevo, killing and wounding innocent civilians in the besieged city, including children,” according to her complaint.
During the nearly four-year siege of Sarajevo that began in April 1992 — the longest in the history of modern warfare — some 11,541 men, women, and children were killed and more than 50,000 people wounded by Bosnian Serb forces, according to official figures.
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Italy probes if ‘war tourists’ paid to shoot civilians in Sarajevo siege
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Italy probes if ‘war tourists’ paid to shoot civilians in Sarajevo siege
- The newspaper said the unidentified suspects it dubbed “war tourists” were mostly wealthy and gun-loving right-wing sympathizers
- The investigation follows a complaint filed by Italian journalist and writer Ezio Gavanezzi
‘Not Winston Churchill’: Trump steps up criticism of UK’s Starmer
- Trump criticized Starmer’s decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, home to the Diego Garcia air base, saying that they have ‘been very, very uncooperative with with that stupid island’
- Donald Trump: ‘France has been great. They’ve all been great. The UK has been much different from others’
LONDON/WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump intensified his criticism of Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday, saying his lack of immediate support for US strikes on Iran showed “this is not Winston Churchill we’re dealing with.” Trump has lashed out at Starmer three times this week after he said neither the British military, or its air bases, were involved in the initial US and Israeli strikes on Tehran that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Starmer told parliament that the government had learnt from its mistakes in backing the US in the 2003 Iraq war, and said any military action must have a “viable, thought-through plan.” He also said he did not believe in “regime change from the skies.” But Starmer has since allowed the US to use UK bases to launch what he called limited and defensive strikes to weaken Tehran’s capabilities, after Iran hit US allies in the region with drones and missiles. On Monday, a British base in Cyprus was hit by a drone that Cypriot officials said was likely launched by Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, prompting London to send a destroyer and more helicopters with counter-drone technology to the region.
Trump told reporters during a meeting in the Oval Office with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that he was very disappointed with Britain.
“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” he said, comparing Starmer with Britain’s revered wartime leader.
Trump also criticized Starmer’s decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, home to the US-UK air base of Diego Garcia, saying they have “been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island.”
Starmer has been criticized from all sides at home for his decision, with opponents on the left calling for him to condemn the military action while on the right, opposition leaders Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage attacked Starmer for failing to back Britain’s key security and intelligence ally.
Britain has long prided itself on its relationship with the US, aided by British leaders such as Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair cultivating strong relationships with their counterparts, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Starmer, a center-left former lawyer, surprised his critics when he too struck up a solid relationship with Trump, but that has been tested in the last year as the US leader became more combative on a number of fronts. Trump earlier told the Sun newspaper he never thought he would see Britain become a reluctant partner, instead heaping praise on France and Germany.
“This was the most solid relationship of all,” he said. “And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe.”
“France has been great. They’ve all been great. The UK has been much different from others.”
Britain, France and Germany released a joint statement in response to Iranian attacks on Saturday, saying they were in close contact with the US, Israel and partners in the region, and were calling for a resumption of negotiations.
Starmer has defended his response, telling parliament on Monday he had to judge what was in Britain’s national interest. “That is what I have done, and I stand by it,” he said.
Polling published by YouGov on Tuesday showed people in Britain were opposed to the US strikes on Iran by 49 percent to 28 percent.
Trump told reporters during a meeting in the Oval Office with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that he was very disappointed with Britain.
“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” he said, comparing Starmer with Britain’s revered wartime leader.
Trump also criticized Starmer’s decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, home to the US-UK air base of Diego Garcia, saying they have “been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island.”
Starmer has been criticized from all sides at home for his decision, with opponents on the left calling for him to condemn the military action while on the right, opposition leaders Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage attacked Starmer for failing to back Britain’s key security and intelligence ally.
Britain has long prided itself on its relationship with the US, aided by British leaders such as Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair cultivating strong relationships with their counterparts, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Starmer, a center-left former lawyer, surprised his critics when he too struck up a solid relationship with Trump, but that has been tested in the last year as the US leader became more combative on a number of fronts. Trump earlier told the Sun newspaper he never thought he would see Britain become a reluctant partner, instead heaping praise on France and Germany.
“This was the most solid relationship of all,” he said. “And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe.”
“France has been great. They’ve all been great. The UK has been much different from others.”
Britain, France and Germany released a joint statement in response to Iranian attacks on Saturday, saying they were in close contact with the US, Israel and partners in the region, and were calling for a resumption of negotiations.
Starmer has defended his response, telling parliament on Monday he had to judge what was in Britain’s national interest. “That is what I have done, and I stand by it,” he said.
Polling published by YouGov on Tuesday showed people in Britain were opposed to the US strikes on Iran by 49 percent to 28 percent.
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