Thrill-seekers armed with rifles who shot at innocent civilians during the siege of Sarajevo competed to see who could kill the most beautiful women, a book has claimed.
Wealthy tourists from Russia, Canada, and the US reportedly made weekend trips to the besieged city between 1992 and 1995, paying Serbian fighters to participate in the “Sarajevo Safari.”
The disturbing allegations—stemming from a conflict that left over 11,500 civilians dead—were highlighted in a documentary released in 2022.
The documentary claimed Western tourists, including British, German, Spanish, and Italian individuals, as well as snipers from Russia, the US, and Canada, paid even higher sums to shoot at children.
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Now, a new book titled Pay and Shoot by Croatian journalist Domagoj Margetic has uncovered a fresh batch of documents.
These documents were given to him by Bosnian intelligence officer Nezad Ugljen before he was killed in 1996.
The files allegedly outline a grim price list.
According to The Times, foreign gunmen are said to have paid 80,000 marks—nearly £35,000 at the time—to shoot middle-aged men and women.
However, the cost was higher for more "desirable" targets.
Young women were reportedly priced at 95,000 marks.
Pregnant women were considered the most expensive—at 110,000 marks.
Margetic stated: “Ugljen also wrote that the foreigners competed to see who could shoot the most beautiful women.”
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Ugljen also claimed that he spoke to Bosnian-Serb militia members who hosted the shooters.
Many claim that a European royal was among those involved.
“He would arrive by helicopter, stay in Vogosca near Sarajevo and wanted to shoot at children,” he alleged.
The book suggests that the idea of a “safari” did not originate in Serbia—but in Croatia—relating to a Croatian linked to former Yugoslav intelligence.
It supports long-standing claims that some of the bloodshed wasn't carried out solely by Bosnian-Serb forces.
Instead, wealthy outsiders allegedly paid large sums to participate in what has been described as a “human safari.”
In November 2025, Italian authorities launched an investigation into the claims.
Rumors of such horrors have circulated for decades.
In 2007, former US Marine John Jordan gave evidence at The Hague before the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
He had volunteered as a UN firefighter in Sarajevo during the war.
Jordan told the court he had seen armed men who “did not appear to me to be locals.”
“I had witnessed on more than one occasion personnel who did not appear to me to be locals by their dress, by the weapons they carried, by the way they were being handled, i.e., guided around by the locals,” he testified.
He noted that the figures wore a mix of civilian and military clothing.
The siege began after Bosnian-Serb forces surrounded Sarajevo following Bosnia and Herzegovina's break from Yugoslavia.
The city was cut off from food, electricity, and relentlessly shelled for 44 months.
At the trial, Bosnian-Serb general Dragomir Milosevic was sentenced to 33 years for murder, inhumane treatment, and a campaign of terror.
Further claims emerged in 2022 in a documentary by Slovenian director Miran Zupanič.
An anonymous former intelligence officer said he witnessed seven such “safari” events.
He described being driven in a military SUV under the pretense of visiting frontlines.
“There I saw three gentlemen whose faces immediately told me they were not from Bosnia, not Serbs, not Montenegrins, they had to be from the West,” he said.
He said the group was taken into camouflaged rooms.
From there, participants—guided by spotters—allegedly fired at civilians, including women and children.
“I was horrified by the safari. It’s the peak of depravity. Such violent, inhumane killing,” he added.
Lifestyle & Culture Editor
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