Italian authorities are investigating claims that wealthy foreigners, including Italians, Americans, and Russians, paid up to £80,000 (about $92,800) to act as “weekend snipers” and shoot civilians during the 1990s siege of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The alleged “sniper tourists,” linked to far-right circles and passionate about weapons, reportedly paid Bosnian Serb forces to carry out the attacks, with higher fees paid to target children or armed men, witnesses and investigators say.

The probe was prompted by an Italian writer who claimed to have uncovered evidence of these payments during Sarajevo’s four-year siege. The complaint states the tourists traveled from Trieste to Belgrade via the Serbian airline Aviogenex, which operated out of the Italian airport at the time.

“There were Germans, French, English … people from all Western countries who paid large sums of money to be taken there to shoot civilians,” said investigative writer Ezio Gavazzeni.

“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.”

According to reports, prosecutors in Milan are working to identify Italians allegedly involved in the killings and who could face charges of “voluntary homicide aggravated by cruelty and abject motives.”

Serbia has denied the allegations. Sarajevo saw more than 10,000 killed by snipers and shelling from 1992 to 1996.