Ex-marine's shocking testimony about ‘sniper tourists’ who allegedly paid £70,000 for ‘human safaris’

The testimony of a former US Marine about alleged 'sniper tourists' who are claimed to have paid money to go to Sarajevo and shoot people may help shed light on the matter.

Italian prosecutors are currently investigating the claims that during the Bosnian War, people from around the world paid significant sums of money to go to Sarajevo and shoot at civilians while it was under siege.

The prosecutors are investigating claims that Italian citizens are among those who allegedly paid sums of around £70,000 to go on 'human safaris' where they would have the chance to shoot at people trapped in a warzone.

Over 11,000 people died in Sarajevo during a four-year siege in the Bosnian War, in a conflict which saw various crimes, including mass rape, ethnic cleansing and genocide, and is estimated to have taken around 100,000 lives in total.

Sarajevo's main boulevard was nicknamed 'Sniper Alley' as it became one of the deadliest spots of the war, and there are accusations that people from many nations paid to go to Bosnia and take shots at people.

Around 10,000 people were killed in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War (Rikard Larma/Getty Images)

"People from all western countries who paid large sums of money to be taken there to shoot civilians," claimed journalist Ezio Gavazzeni, as per The Guardian, saying that many others besides Italians, including 'Germans, French, English' went to Bosnia during that time.

"There were no political or religious motivations. They were rich people who went there for fun and personal satisfaction. We are talking about people who love guns who perhaps go to shooting ranges or on safari in Africa.

"There was a traffic of war tourists who went there to shoot people. I call it an indifference towards evil."

Former US Marine John Jordan had volunteered as a UN firefighter during the time of the Bosnian War, during which time he himself was shot, and in 2007, he gave his account to The Hague.

He claimed that 'shooter tourists' were present in Sarajevo, testifying: "I had witnessed on more than one occasion personnel who did not appear to me to be locals by their dress, by the weapons they carried, by the way they were being handled, i.e., guided around by the locals."

Working as a UN firefighter at the time, John Jordan claimed he saw people who could have been 'sniper tourists' (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)

Jordan alleged that he saw people wearing 'civilian-military' clothing who appeared to be 'completely unfamiliar' with Sarajevo and were instead being guided around by those more familiar, telling the International Criminal Tribunal they were there to 'take pot shots at civilians for their own gratification'.

He said they had carried hunting weapons rather than the sort of equipment you'd expect to find in a warzone, and though he 'never actually saw one take a shot' his claim that he saw civilians carrying hunting weapons being guided around Sarajevo is disturbing.

Jordan also testified that much of the sniper fire seemed targeted to 'cause the most pain to survivors', with him claiming that snipers would often target 'the youngest' if they saw a family.

The investigation into 'sniper tourists' is ongoing, Gavzzeni claims to have identified several Italian nationals who allegedly travelled to Sarajevo to shoot people.

Other claims about 'sniper tourists' include the book The B**tards of Sarajevo and the documentary Sarajevo Safari, which contain claims that foreign tourists paid money to be guided around the war-torn city and taken to places they could snipe at civilians.