Serbian Leader Emphatically Denies Wartime 'Human Safari' Claims
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has issued a firm denial of what he calls 'malicious disinformation' following allegations that he was involved in organising and personally taking part in so-called 'human safari' sniper trips during the brutal Balkan wars of the 1990s. The shocking claims suggest that wealthy foreign tourists paid exorbitant sums to shoot at unarmed civilians in the besieged city of Sarajevo.
The allegations were formally levelled by Croatian investigative journalist Domagoj Margetic, who has submitted a detailed complaint to prosecutors in Milan. Mr Margetic accuses the Serbian leader of not only organising these macabre expeditions but of actively participating in the sniping of civilians during group 'safari' trips between 1992 and 1993.
According to the journalist, Mr Vučić was a volunteer for a Bosnian Serb militia that commandeered a strategic position at a Jewish cemetery overlooking Sarajevo. The president's denial coincides with the resurfacing of a deeply disturbing video showing a car, allegedly used by the militia's leader Slavko Aleksic, which featured a human skull – said to be taken from a Bosnian corpse – placed on its bonnet and wearing a UN helmet.
International Investigation and Chilling Documentary Evidence
Prosecutors in Milan have recently initiated an investigation into Italian tourists who are alleged to have paid up to £88,000 to take part in the sniping of civilians. This probe was triggered by the 2022 documentary 'Sarajevo Safari', directed by Miran Zupanič, which presented claims that elite gun enthusiasts from countries including Russia, Canada, and the United States made weekend trips to the hills surrounding Sarajevo to shoot innocent people for sport, with higher prices charged for targeting children.
Mr Margetic announced on social media, 'I have informed the Public Prosecutor's Office in Milan in a report of all my knowledge about Aleksandar Vučić's connection with human safaris in wartime Sarajevo.' He claims to possess video materials, photo documentation, and audio evidence proving that the 55-year-old president, then in his twenties, took part in these expeditions before his rise to political power.
Conflicting Accounts and Historical Context
In response, President Vučić's spokeswoman, Suzana Vasiljevic, dismissed the allegations as 'a textbook case of malicious disinformation' designed to damage the credibility of Serbia and its leader. She insisted that during the early 1990s, Mr Vučić was working solely as a journalist and translator in the nearby town of Pale, 'without any contact with military structures or operational activities'. She stated unequivocally that 'President Vučić did not participate in combat activities, did not use weapons, and had no role in any wartime operations'.
However, Mr Margetic counters that he has evidence placing Mr Vučić as a 'war volunteer' for the New Sarajevo Chetnik Detachment of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), which was stationed at the Jewish cemetery – a known frontline position for Serbian snipers. The journalist cites a 1994 magazine interview in which Mr Vučić reportedly said he 'signed up as a volunteer' during the siege and spent time at the cemetery.
Furthermore, a video from 1993 is cited as showing Mr Vučić carrying what appears to be a sniper rifle alongside other armed men at the cemetery. While Bosnian media has previously reported Mr Vučić's claim that he was merely holding an umbrella, his spokeswoman now asserts it was a tripod used for his journalistic work.
These are not the first such allegations against the Serbian president. Bosnia's defence minister, Zukan Helez, stated last year that three members of the Bosnian Serb Army told him they witnessed Mr Vučić firing on Sarajevo residents from the Jewish cemetery. Mr Margetic also claims that militia leader Slavko Aleksic alleged in 2017 that Mr Vučić was a former member of his unit and acted as a translator for foreigners arriving at the site.
The Siege of Sarajevo, which lasted from 1992 to 1996, was one of the longest in modern history, resulting in the deaths of more than 11,500 people, many of them civilians targeted by snipers and mortar fire. The city's main thoroughfare became infamously known as 'Sniper Alley' due to the constant threat of death. With the launch of the Italian investigation, initiated by a legal complaint from Italian journalist Ezio Gavazzeni, there is renewed hope that the full truth behind the 'human safari' allegations may finally be uncovered.
