Belgian prosecutors have launched an investigation into the possible involvement of Belgian citizens in alleged sniper safaris during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s, local media reported on Thursday.
The federal investigation follows last November’s opening of proceedings by prosecutors in Milan into allegations that foreign nationals travelled to besieged Sarajevo and paid large sums of money to shoot civilians under siege.
The allegations emerged following research by Italian journalist and author Ezio Gavazzeni, whose investigation claims that participants from several countries, including Belgium, France, Germany and Italy, may have been involved in these activities.
According to Gavazzeni’s findings, individuals allegedly paid up to 100,000 euros or more to participate in the shooting of civilians in Sarajevo.
The prosecution said the investigation was launched based on information published in the media, but declined to provide further details, Flemish public broadcaster VRT reported.
Separately, Austrian prosecutors earlier this week also launched an investigation into the possible involvement of two Austrian suspects.
The siege of Sarajevo began on April 5, 1992, and ended on February 29, 1996. It lasted 1,425 days. An estimated 500,000 missiles were fired at the city during the siege. An average of 329 shells were fired at the city per day.
During that time, around 350,000 inhabitants were exposed to daily fire from members of the former JNA and paramilitary formations, and later members of the then Army of the Republika Srpska, from almost all types of weapons, from positions located on the surrounding hills.
During the siege, 11,541 citizens of Sarajevo died, among them 1,601 children. According to post-war research, most of the inhabitants, almost four fifths of the total number of dead, died in the first two years of the war.
