NEW: Italian prosecutors have launched an investigation into allegations that wealthy people from Western countries paid upward of $90,000 for "sniper safaris" where they would shoot civilians.
The complaint was filed by journalist Ezio Gavazzeni.
Gavazzeni claims the "sniper tourists" would go on trips to Sarajevo and pay Bosnian Serb forces to kill men, women, and children in the 1990s.
There was allegedly an extra fee to shoot children.
"There were Germans, French, English … people from all Western countries who paid large sums of money to be taken there to shoot civilians," Gavazzeni said.
"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."
Gavazzeni heard about the reports from Italian media outlets in the 1990s but dug deeper after watching a documentary in 2022.
The investigative reporter says his key source is a former Bosnian intel officer.
"We are impatient to discover the truth about such a cruel matter in order to close a chapter of history. I am in possession of certain information I will be sharing with the investigators," said a spokesperson for the Bosnian Consulate in Milan.
Horrific if true.