A grieving mother has alleged that her six-year-old son was fatally shot by a malevolent sniper who had come to her country supposedly to participate in “human safaris”.
Disturbing accusations have emerged that affluent foreigners paid £70,000 to visit war-torn Sarajevo to engage in shooting and killing innocent civilians as a form of leisure activity. These claims have been presented in an Italian court, where prosecutors are investigating allegations that individuals traveled to Bosnia and Herzegovina during the brutal four-year siege of the capital in the 1990s. Local resident Fatima Popovac asserts that one of these purported shooters was responsible for the death of her young son, Adnan.
In an interview with the Anadolu Ajansai news agency, the mother expressed disbelief at the notion of someone killing a child for entertainment, questioning what harm a six-year-old could possibly have done to anyone. She expressed her struggle to fathom the inhumanity of those who committed such acts and expressed a desire to witness the face of the perpetrator to understand their lack of humanity.
Decades after the tragic incident, Fatima continues to rebuild her life amidst sorrow, hoping that truth and justice will prevail as investigations unfold. Despite her loss, she refrains from wishing harm upon even the individual who took her child’s life, believing that her son awaits her in paradise.
Dzemil Hodzic, whose younger brother was also a victim during the harrowing four-year period, echoed Fatima’s calls for justice. He advocated labeling the individuals involved in these alleged sniper excursions as “terrorists” and “killers” rather than mere “tourists”, emphasizing his commitment to seeking truth and justice relentlessly.
The city of Sarajevo witnessed a deadly siege during the four-year conflict, resulting in over 11,000 deaths from sniper attacks and shelling between 1992 and 1996. Fatima is part of a group advocating for justice for the Bosnian victims of the atrocities committed during that period.
A formal complaint was lodged in a Milan court by journalist Ezio Gavazzeni, alleging that wealthy foreigners paid to target defenseless civilians, with varying rates depending on the gender and age of the victims, with children reportedly fetching higher prices. The case suggests that these individuals, purportedly linked to far-right factions, would travel from Trieste to Belgrade via the Serbian airline Aviogenex before heading to the hills surrounding Sarajevo to shoot at innocent civilians from Serbian positions. Reports indicate that individuals paid substantial amounts, ranging from £70,000 to £88,000, to partake in these weekend sniper activities targeting war-weary Bosnians.