5 August 2026

Peter Conradi wrote an article in the Sunday Times entitled, ‘Shooting Party’. It raised an alarming question, ‘During the Siege of Sarajevo, hundreds of residents were killed by snipers hiding in the hills above the city. Did foreign tourists pay to join the gunmen on human safaris and murder civilians for fun?’

It is a barbaric proposition which has been exposed by an Italian thriller writer, Ezio Gavazzeni. He investigated the claim that Italian, German and British citizens were involved. As a result, he submitted a report to Italian prosecutors who have taken it seriously.

The Siege of Sarajevo began on 5 April 1992 and lasted 1,425. The residents of the city lived with the fear of being shot and got into the habit of zig-zagging their way around the city. Of the 5,434 civilians who were killed in the Siege, 1,601 were children. 534 of these were killed by snipers.

In the heart of the city, there is a small museum dedicated to these children. Each child has a drawer with a brief description of their life and how it ended as well as  an object chosen by their parents – a cuddly pink rabbit, a school bag, a portable cassette recorder.

It is alleged that wealthy people came to Bosnia for the express purpose of killing fellow human beings. Apparently, they paid for the experience. There was a price list. It was less expensive to pay to kill an older person than a young child. £50,000 in today’s prices for the one more than double for the other.

Can it be true that human beings could consider such a thing and transform it into a sporting interest. The truth will out in due course. War destroys civilisation. It makes animals of us. The rule of law collapses and people are dehumanised. The Gospel inspires a different story. But  the snipers were  Orthodox Christians!