A MAN described as a “crucial witness” in a chilling investigation which claims wealthy Europeans paid to shoot civilians for sport during the Bosnian war has died in unexplained circumstances.
Slavko Aleksic, a former Bosnian militia leader who commanded sniper positions overlooking Sarajevo in the 1990s died aged 69 in the city of Trebinje.
Slavko Aleksić has died aged 69 due to unexplained circumstancesCredit: YouTube
15th March 1993 During the Siege of Sarajevo: people run from the sniper near the Hotel Bristol on Sniper Alley.Credit: Alamy
Sarajevo locals cower along with a Bosnian special forces soldier under gunfire from Bosnian Serb forcesCredit: AFP – Getty
His death comes just weeks after Italian prosecutors re-opened an investigation into allegations of so-called “human safaris” during the siege of Sarajevo.
The probe centres on claims that rich foreign tourists paid Bosnian Serb forces vast sums to fire on unarmed civilians trapped in the city.
More than 11,500 people were killed during the siege between 1992 and 1996, the longest of a capital city in modern warfare.
Aleksic, a former post-office worker turned militia commander, controlled sniper nests in a Jewish cemetery perched above Sarajevo.
He was infamous for driving a car with a human skull mounted on the bonnet, wearing a UN helmet.
Italian magistrates are now examining new evidence suggesting wealthy hunters from Europe travelled to Bosnia to take part in the killing.
Investigators are also probing claims Italy’s secret services blocked Italian snipers from travelling from Trieste to join the “human safaris”.
Serbian lawyer Cedomir Stojkovic said Aleksic’s death could severely damage the investigation.
“He could have said who did the shooting and who organised it,” Stojkovic said.
“He would have been a crucial witness.”
Croatian investigative journalist Domagoj Margetic also raised alarm over the timing of the death.
“In November, Aleksic was apparently in good health – and now he has suddenly, and very conveniently, died,” he said.
Last month, Margetic alleged Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic was involved in organising the alleged sniper safaris.
The claim was fiercely denied by Vucic’s spokeswoman, who said the president was in the area at the time but working as a journalist.
Aleksic himself appeared on Serbian television on November 24, denying Vucic had any role in sniper activity.
“Aleksic was alive and well then, did not announce a fatal illness and, on the contrary, said he would testify in favour of Vucic,” Margetic said.
On December 12, Aleksic phoned a radio show claiming he was in hospital in Belgrade.
Margetic said a source told him Aleksic had been transferred from Bosnia to Belgrade’s military hospital by Serbia’s secret service.
“It’s reasonable to think Aleksic’s death was linked to the ‘human safari’ probe and that Serbian intelligence was involved,” Stojkovic said.
Margetic also claimed Aleksic’s body was later returned to Bosnia.
“A source in a hospital in Bosnia told me Aleksic’s body was brought back to Bosnia so he could be declared dead there,” he said.
He has now appealed to Bosnian war crimes prosecutors to halt any burial or cremation.
Margetic wants a full post-mortem to check the body for poison.
Asked if Serbian intelligence was involved, a spokesperson for Vucic dismissed the claims.
“This person died in another country,” the spokesperson said.
“Please read the serious news, not Domagoj Margetic.”
A young boy rides a bicycle through the wrecked streets of Sarajevo in 1992Credit: AFP – Getty
War crimes investigators uncovering a mass grave from the Srebrenica massacre of Bosnian Muslims by the Bosnian Serb armyCredit: AP:Associated Press
Bosnian Serb nationalist politician Milorad Dodik paid tribute to Aleksic.
He called him “a great patriot who left an indelible mark on the history of the Serbian people”.
“May he be eternally glorified and thanked for everything he did for his people and homeland,” Dodik wrote on X.
The investigation was reignited after the 2022 documentary Sarajevo Safari, directed by Miran Zupanič.
The film alleged elite gun enthusiasts from Italy, the US, Russia, Canada and elsewhere paid to shoot civilians for fun.
It claimed tourists paid more to target children.
Italian journalist Ezio Gavazzeni later filed a formal complaint with prosecutors in Milan.
He alleged visitors paid Bosnian Serb fighters between £70,000 and £88,000 for trips to sniper positions.
Prosecutors are now examining whether up to 100 wealthy tourists took part.
Gavazzeni said the shooters came from across Europe and North America.
“The clients came from many countries: they were Italian, German, French, English, Spanish, American, or Canadian,” he said.
“Why did no country ever launch an investigation?”
“Maybe because they were powerful, wealthy, and socially influential individuals.”
Gavazzeni added: “These people had no pretext: they fired at anyone who appeared in their sights – whether a child, a woman, a man, or an elderly person. With no sense of morality whatsoever.”
Survivors of the siege have since demanded the harshest possible punishment for those involved.
Sarajevo residents lived in constant terror of sniper fire, especially along the main boulevard known as “Sniper Alley”.
Professor Kenneth Morrison, an expert on the Balkans, said the allegations shocked the public because of who was involved.
“What’s shocking about this story is that it’s wealthy individuals that have allegedly paid to do this,” he said.
“They were hunting human prey with no regard for human life.”
He added: “There is a perception that rich people do what they do, and in this case that allegedly includes killing, and somehow they’re never prosecuted.”
Sickening world of human safaris where ghouls ‘pay £80k to kill kids’
By Vikki White
STANDING next to a sniper on the frontline in Iraq, dark tourist Andrew Drury was offered the chance to take a shot himself.
The horrified dad-of-four turned down the opportunity to kill, but this month prosecutors in announced they were rich far-right Europeans had done just that – shining a light on the dark and horrific world of so-called ‘human safaris’.
The shocking claims alleged tourists had paid large sums to shoot at innocent men, women and children during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s.
Sickeningly, it is claimed a premium price was placed on children’s heads.
Up to 100 depraved gun enthusiasts from far-right right circles are said to have paid up to £88,000 to take part in the murder games, according to La Repubblica newspaper, with shooters hailing from Italy, the US, and elsewhere.
The Bosnian War saw the capital city of Sarajevo come under siege for nearly four years, the longest in the history of modern warfare, with more than 10,000 people killed by shelling and sniper fire between 1992 and 1996.
Sniper Alley, the nickname for the main boulevard running through the city, became a notoriously dangerous thoroughfare in the conflict which saw Bosnian Serb forces surround Sarajevo in an attempt to force the government to concede to their demands.
Rumours have long been circulating about the sick tourist trips made during this time, with allegations first coming to widespread public attention in the 2022 documentary Sarajevo Safari, made by Slovenian filmmaker Miran Zupanic.
“What’s shocking about this story and I think why it’s grabbed the public imagination is that it’s wealthy individuals that have allegedly paid to do this,” Professor Kenneth Morrison, a leading expert on the Balkans, tells The Sun.
“There is a perception that rich people do what they do, and in this case that allegedly includes killing, and somehow they’re never prosecuted for it.”
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War tourist Andrew Drury, who has visited conflict zones for 20 years, said he had heard the rumours long before.
“It’s not dark tourism, it’s murder,” he said.
Drury recalled being offered a chance to shoot while visiting the frontline in Iraq.
“I wouldn’t even look into the scope,” he said.
“I couldn’t take another human life.”
Prosecutors believe Sarajevo’s geography made it ideal for the alleged safaris, with the city surrounded by hills perfect for snipers.
They claim tourists flew in via Trieste before being driven to firing positions.
Professor Morrison said such trips would have required extensive planning and protection.
“The sum they paid wouldn’t have just been for the experience,” he said.
“It would have been for organising the whole infrastructure.”
Karadžić, the Bosnian Serb leader at the time, was jailed in 2016 for genocide and crimes against humanity.
Lead prosecutor Alessandro Gobbi is now understood to have a list of witnesses who may be called to testify.
Whether Aleksic’s death will derail the case remains unclear.
Chilling warning sign on the street of SarajevoCredit: Alamy
The streets of Sarajevo were deadly during the four-year siegeCredit: Getty – Contributor
Civilians were at constant risk of being picked off by sniper fire in the early 1990sCredit: Reuters
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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