Canadian Institute urges Ottawa to probe allegations of Canadians involved in “Sarajevo Safari” killings

? Canadian Institute urges Ottawa to probe allegations of Canadians involved in “Sarajevo Safari” killings

The Institute for Research of Genocide Canada (IGK) has called on Canadian Justice Minister Sean Fraser to investigate reports that wealthy foreigners, including individuals from Canada, allegedly paid to shoot civilians from sniper positions during the siege of Sarajevo.

The appeal follows the opening of an investigation by prosecutors in Milan, who are examining claims that affluent visitors from several countries participated in the killing of civilians for sport during the Bosnian war.

In its letter, IGK referenced Miran Zupancic’s documentary Sarajevo Safari, which explores the phenomenon of “tourist snipers,” as well as accounts from Haris Imamovi?’s documentary novel Vedran i vatrogasci. The institute also highlighted testimony by American firefighter John Jordan, who served in Sarajevo during the war and later told the Hague Tribunal in February 2007 that wealthy foreigners visited the besieged city to entertain themselves by shooting civilians.

IGK stressed that even the possibility of Canadian involvement in shootings targeting civilians, especially children, represents a level of cruelty that Canada must not tolerate. The organization insisted that the so-called “Sarajevo safari” cannot remain a piece of shocking news alone, arguing that accountability and justice for victims must be pursued. 

The siege of Sarajevo lasted 1,425 days, beginning on April 5, 1992. During this period, 11,541 civilians were killed, including 1,601 children. Estimates suggest that around 300 snipers targeted the city daily, with official records documenting 255 people killed by sniper fire, among them 60 children. 

Describing the alleged acts as an unimaginable form of human hunting, IGK wrote that this “hunt for people” represents one of the darkest symbols of the evil endured by Sarajevo during the longest siege in modern history.