Austria investigate suspects over Sarajevo ‘sniper tours’

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Austria's justice ministry says an Austrian citizen and another person are subjects of an inquiry into whether they paid large sums to shoot at humans during the siege of Sarajevo more than 30 years ago. Allegations of outsiders paying to shoot and kill Bosnian civilians, including women and children, between 1992 and 1995 surfaced in a 2022 documentary. Subsequent reporting led to an investigation by Italian magistrates and a book published last month by a Croatian journalist. It contains an interview with a former Bosnian Serb officer who describes one alleged “safari” sniper as a “count” who gave his name as Sebastian. The Times quotes a former Austrian justice minister as saying the allegations leave one “speechless”.