A central witness in a major investigation into allegations that wealthy tourists paid to kill unarmed civilians during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s has died unexpectedly.
Sudden death of a crucial figure
Slavko Aleksic, a 69-year-old former Bosnian militia leader, died in the city of Trebinje. According to reports from The Times, he had been in good health prior to his sudden death. His passing follows the launch of an investigation last month in Italy into alleged 'human safari' sniper trips during the Balkan wars, a conflict which claimed the lives of more than 11,000 civilians in Sarajevo alone.
Aleksic commanded a Jewish cemetery overlooking Sarajevo that was used by snipers. Serbian lawyer Cedomir Stojkovic stated that Aleksic 'would have been a crucial witness' as he 'could have said who did the shooting and who organised it'. Croatian investigative journalist Domagoj Margetic noted the suspicious timing: 'In November, Aleksic was apparently in good health — and now he has suddenly, and very conveniently, died.'
The 'human safari' allegations and political links
The investigation into the mass killings, dubbed 'Sarajevo Safari', was prompted by a 2022 documentary of the same name by director Miran Zupanič. It claimed that elite gun enthusiasts from countries including Russia, Canada, and the United States made weekend trips to the hills surrounding the besieged city. They allegedly paid large sums to shoot at innocent civilians for sport, with higher fees to target children.
Last month, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was accused of involvement in organising these sniper trips, an allegation he firmly denies. On November 24, Aleksic gave a television interview in which he insisted President Vucic had no role in sniper activity. Margetic observed: 'Aleksic was alive and well then, did not announce a fatal illness and, on the contrary, said he would testify in favour of Vucic.'
Prosecutors in Milan acted after Italian journalist Ezio Gavazzeni filed a formal complaint. It claimed visitors paid Bosnian Serb fighters between £70,000 and £88,000 for access to sniper positions to shoot at trapped residents.
Mysterious circumstances and calls for a post-mortem
The circumstances surrounding Aleksic's final days are shrouded in mystery. On December 12, according to Margetic, Aleksic told a radio show he was in a hospital in Belgrade. He was reportedly taken from Bosnia to the Serbian capital's military hospital by the country's secret service.
Lawyer Cedomir Stojkovic said: 'It's reasonable to think Aleksic's death was linked to the 'human safari' probe and that Serbian intelligence was involved.' In response, Margetic has appealed to war crimes prosecutors to prevent Aleksic's cremation or burial and to conduct a post-mortem examination to check for poison.
His death occurred shortly after a macabre video resurfaced online. The footage allegedly showed a Toyota car used by Aleksic with a human skull, said to be taken from a Bosnian corpse and wearing a UN helmet, placed on its bonnet.
Survivors of the Sarajevo siege have expressed their desire for the death penalty for the tourists who allegedly paid to shoot civilians. Locals now hope the new Italian-led inquiry will finally expose the truth about whether foreigners travelled to the front lines to take potshots at innocent people for entertainment.
