List of massacres in Kosovo

This is a list of massacres that happened in Kosovo throughout modern history.

Ottoman period
Event Date Location Deaths Perpetrator Victims Description
1737 attacks 1737 Kačanik to Kosovska Mitrovica Ottoman Albanians Serbs [1]
1830 attacks 1830 Ottoman Albanians Serbs Yashar Pasha of Pristina leads destruction of churches, stealing monastery land, murder of monks, and expulsion of over 70 Serb villages between Vučitrn and Gnjilane.[2]
1866 attacks 1866 Peć nahiya Ottoman Albanians Serbs Russian consul in Prizren, Timayev, in his official report dated late 1866 describes how Albanians of the Peć nahiya have destroyed tens of Serb villages, murdered male villagers, raped women, and desecrated graves.[3]
1876–78 attacks 1876-78 Albanian refugees Serbs Incoming Albanian refugees to Kosovo who were expelled by the Serb army from the Sanjak of Niș were involved in revenge attacks and hostile actions to the local Serb population.[4]
1895 attacks 1895 4,000 Albanians Serbs
1898 attacks 1898 Albanians Serbs [5]
1899 attacks 1899 Albanians Serbs [5]
1901 massacres of Serbs 1901 Pristina and Ibarski Kolašin 550 - 1,000 Albanians Serbs
Takeover of Gjakova 1912 Gjakova Serbian and Montenegrin armies Albanians First Balkan War
Takeover of Pristina 1912 Pristina 5,000 [6] Serbian army Albanians First Balkan War
Takeover of Ferizaj 1912 Ferizaj 1,200 Serbian army Albanians First Balkan War [7]
Takeover of Prizren 1912 Prizren 5,000 [8] Serbian and Montenegrin armies Albanians First Balkan War
Leshkobare massacre 1912 Lloshkobare 8 Serbian army Albanians First Balkan War [7]

Interwar period
Event Date Location Deaths Perpetrator Victims Description
Rugova massacre 16 February 1919 Rugova 432 Army of Kingdom of Yugoslavia Albanian civilians [9][10][11]

World War II
Event Date Location Deaths Perpetrator Victims Description
June 1941 massacres of Kosovo Serbs June 1941 Albanians Serbs [12]
Ibarski Kolašin massacres 30 September–10 October 1941 Ibarski Kolašin 150 Vulnetari and gendarmerie Serbs 22 villages burnt down. [12]
June 1942 Pristina killings Late June 1942 Pristina area 100 Albanians Serbs [12]
Vareška Reka massacre June 1943 15 Vulnetari and gendarmerie Serbs [12]
Uroševac massacre 11–12 September 1943 Uroševac area 60 Albanians Serbs Commanded by Amdija Jašarević.[12]
Nekodim, Baroš Selo, Duganjevo and Plešina murders 12–13 September 1943 Nekodim, Baroš Selo, Duganjevo and Plešina Albanians Serbs [12]
Žerovnica killings 10 October 1943 Žerovnica 6 Albanians Serbs [12]
Brestovik mass killing 13 October 1943 Brestovik 19 Albanian quislings Serbs 19 Serbs in the Serbian village of Brestovik near Peć were killed by Albanian quislings on 13 October 1943. Before the Italian capitulation (September 1943), 12 villagers had been killed.[12]
Rakoš massacre October 1943 Rakoš 63 Albanians Serbs 63 Serbs from Crkoljez, Žakovo, Ukča, Krnjina, Belica, Klina, Drsnik, Tučep, Rakoš, were shot by Albanians in Rakoš, a village half-way between Kosovska Mitrovica and Peć.[12]
Peć massacres Late 1943 Peć 230 Albanians Serbs [12]
Ibarski Kolašin massacres 3–25 February 1944 Ibarski Kolašin 69 Vulnetari Serbs Attack led by Shaban Polluzha. 15 Serb villages destroyed, 900 houses burnt down, 4 girls abducted, 69 old people, women and children killed. Also, six killed during resistance.[12]
Tople Vode massacre 1944 Kačanik 13 Bulgarian forces Serbs 13 Serbs from the village of Vrbeštica shot by Bulgarian forces.[12]
Štrpce massacre 30 June 1944 Štrpce 50 Bulgarian military Serbs After the death of a Bulgarian soldier.[12]
Massacres of Karadak 1941-1945 Presevo, Karadak, Kosovo. est. 400-500 Serbian Partisans and Chetniks, Macedonian Partisans and Bulgarian military Albanians

Insurgency in Kosovo
See also: Insurgency in Kosovo (1995–98)
Event Date Location Deaths Perpetrator Victims Description
Attacks on Likošane and Ćirez 28 February–1 March 1998 Likošane and Ćirez, near Glogovac 26 Serbian special police KLA, Albanian civilians Operation against KLA (16 killed), including extrajudicial killings of the Ahmeti family in Likošane and Sejdiu family in Ćirez.
Attack on Prekaz 5–7 March 1998 Prekaz, near Srbica 58 VJ, SAJ KLA, Albanian civilians Operation against KLA after attacks on nearby police, shelling of leader Adem Jashari's compound, including civilian victims.[13]

Kosovo War
See also: Kosovo War
Event Date Location Deaths Perpetrator Victims Description
Ljubenić massacre 25 May 1998 Ljubenić 9 Serbian police KLA, Albanian civilians Operation against KLA, extrajudicial killings of men.
Klečka killings 17–22 July 1998 Klečka 22 KLA Serbian civilians KLA used cremation chambers to burn bodies of killed Serbian civilians, covering up the crime. 22 bodies were identified from remains.[14]
Lake Radonjić massacre Before 9 September 1998 Glođane 34 KLA Serbs, Albanians On 9 September 1998 the Serbian police announced the finding of a mass grave. By 16 September 34 bodies were gathered. Victims included some Albanians.[15][16]
Gornje Obrinje massacre 26 September 1998 Gornje Obrinje 21 Serbian special police KLA, Albanian civilians Operation against KLA, in retaliation of at least 14 killed Serbian policemen, subsequent massacre with HRW claiming 21 civilians.[17]
Golubovac executions 26 September 1998 Golubovac 13 Serbian paramilitary KLA or Albanian civilians Following Gornje Obrinje,[18] summary execution of men suspected of being KLA.[19]
Panda Bar massacre 14 December 1998 Peć 6 Serbian civilians 6 Serb civilians killed and 14 wounded in attack on café in Peć. The KLA was accused at the time of the events, but strongly rejected any involvement. The Serbian Organised Crime Prosecutor’s Office launched a investigation in 2016 and reached the conclusion that the massacre was not perpetrated by Albanians.[20]
Račak massacre 15 January 1999 Račak 45 SAJ, JSO KLA, Albanian civilians Operation against KLA (9 suspected KLA killed), including killings of civilians.[21] Controversial topic.
Velika Kruša massacre 25 March 1999 Velika Kruša 90–105 Serbian special police Albanian civilians
Bela Crkva massacre 25 March 1999 Bela Crkva 58 Serbian special police and paramilitary Albanian civilians
Suva Reka massacre 26 March 1999 Suva Reka 48 Serbian police Albanian civilians Members of the Berisha family were forced into their family-owned pizzeria, where two hand grenades were thrown. Serbian police officers shot those who displayed signs of life. The bodies were disposed into a mass grave near a police facility in Batajnica, Serbia.[22]
Izbica massacre 28 March 1999 Kosovo 93 VJ, police and paramilitary Albanians After shelling of the village of Izbica, ca. 93, mostly male non-combatants, were executed.
Ljubižda massacre 31 March 1999 near Prizren, Kosovo 14 Serbian forces Albanian civilians Security forces reportedly shot 14 men in the village of Ljubižda, northwest of Prizren.[23]
Pusto Selo massacre 31 March 1999 Pusto Selo near Orahovac, Kosovo 106 Serbian forces KLA or Albanian civilians The men were allegedly KLA sympathizers.[24][23]
Rezala massacre 5 April 1999 Rezala 80 Serbian forces Albanian civilians Serbian police allegedly entered the Albanian village of Rezala and gunned down at least 80 villagers suspected of harbouring KLA guerrillas.[25]
Gjakova bombing 14 April 1999 Gjakova 73 NATO Albanian refugees NATO accidentally bomb Albanian refugees in Gjakova.
Poklek massacre 17 April 1999 47 Serbian police Albanians KLA were active in the area, while a KLA checkpoint was set up in neighbouring Vasiljevo.[26] According to testimonies, 47 people forced into a room were shot by an unidentified single gunman.[27]
Ćikatovo massacre 17 April 1999 Staro Ćikatovo 24 Serbian forces Albanians 24 men of the Morina family were killed during a day-long raid by Serbian forces.[28] Although survivors claimed that none of the killed were involved with the KLA, several members of the family are admitted KLA members.[28]
Meja massacre 27 April 1999 Meja near Gjakova 300 (HRW est.) Serbian forces Albanian civilians Serbian forces retaliate for the KLA killing of five Serbian policemen in Meja on 21 April, by mass killings on 27 April in that village.[29] The number of victims is unknown, but is believed by HRW to be 300 (based on missing persons list), although very few bodies have been found.[30]
Lužane bus bombing 1 May 1999 Lužane 23–60 NATO Serbian civilians NATO missile attack on bridge.
Vučitrn massacre 2–3 May 1999 Vučitrn, Kosovo 120 Serbian forces Albanian civilians Albanian refugees fleeing the fighting that was occurring between the Yugoslav Army and the KLA were cornered by the Serb Special Forces (who suspected that some KLA members were fleeing the fighting with the refugees). The Special Forces picked out about 120 men who they suspected of being KLA deserters and sprayed them with bullets and later hid their bodies in a mass-grave near Gornja Sudimlja.
Koriša bombing 14 May 1999 Koriša 87 NATO Albanian refugees NATO bombed a column of Albanian refugees, killing at least 87 and wounding 60.
Ćuška massacre 14 May 1999 Ćuška 41 Serbian security forces Albanians An estimated twelve men killed in round-up, 29 men gathered into three houses and gunned down.[31] Unclear motive.[32]
Dubrava Prison massacre 22–23 May 1999 Dubrava 79–82 Serbian prison guards Albanian inmates Inmates were extrajudicially killed or summary executed on 22 and 23 May following NATO bombings on 19 May.[33]
Tusus massacre 26 May 1999 Prizren 27–34 Serbian forces Albanians Serbian forces kill 27–34 people and burn over 100 homes.[34] Retaliation for at least two killed policemen on crossing street that morning by KLA.[34]

Aftermath of Kosovo War
See also: United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
Event Date Location Deaths Perpetrator Victims Description
Gnjilane massacre June–October 1999 Peć 80 KLA Serbian civilians KLA's Gnjilane Group burned homes and murdered Serbs and other non-Albanian civilians. The remains of 80 Serbs were discovered in mass graves in 1999.
Staro Gracko massacre 23 July 1999 Lipljan 14 KLA Serbian civilians Mass killing of 14 Serb farmers in the village of Staro Gracko in the municipality of Lipljan on 23 July 1999. The killings occurred after Yugoslav troops withdrew from the region in the aftermath of the Kosovo War.[35]
Ugljare massacre Before August 1999 Ugljare 15 KLA Serbs KFOR reports on 25 August 1999 the finding of 15 bodies of killed Serbs.[36] Killed months prior, the bodies were concealed by the KFOR.[37]
Podujevo bus bombing 16 February 2001 Podujevo 12 Albanian extremists Serbian civilians 12 dead and 40 wounded in bombing attack on bus convoy carrying Serbs traveling to Serb enclave Gračanica to visit family graves.
Goraždevac murders 13 August 2003 Goraždevac 2 Albanian extremists Serbian civilians Shots fired from Albanian village on the Serb enclave kills two, an adult and a child, and wounding four.

See also

References
  1. Ivanov 2005, p. 33.
  2. Ivanov 2005, pp. 34–35.
  3. Ivanov 2005, pp. 35–36.
  4. Müller, Dietmar (2009). "Orientalism and Nation: Jews and Muslims as Alterity in Southeastern Europe in the Age of Nation-States, 1878–1941". East Central Europe. 36 (1): 70. doi:10.1163/187633009x411485.
  5. Mikić 1988.
  6. "SERVIAN ARMY LEFT A TRAIL OF BLOOD; Thousands of Men, Women, and Children Massacred in March to Sea, Say Hungarian Reports" (PDF). Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  7. "Archbishop Lazër Mjeda: Report on the Serb Invasion of Kosova and Macedonia". Robert Elsie: Texts and Documents of Albanian History. 24 January 1913.
  8. Historical Dictionary of Kosovo. Robert Elsie. 2010. ISBN 9780810874831.
  9. Haxhihasani, Qemal; Xhagolli, Agron; Shqipërisë), Instituti i Kulturës Popullore (Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të (1985). Folklor kosovar (in Albanian). Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Kulturës Popullore.
  10. "Statistics of the Rugova Massacre". www.albanianhistory.net.
  11. Prifti, Kristaq (1993). The Truth on Kosova. Encyclopaedia Publishing House.
  12. Antonijević 2009.
  13. Krieger 2001, p. 96.
  14. Human Rights Watch (2001). UNDER ORDERS: War Crimes in Kosovo. Samizdat B92.
  15. Krieger 2001, p. 108.
  16. HRW 2001, p. 13.
  17. Dag Henriksen (15 November 2013). NATO's Gamble: Combining Diplomacy and Airpower in the Kosovo Crisis, 1998-1999. Naval Institute Press. pp. 132–. ISBN 978-1-61251-555-7.
  18. Henriksen 2013, p. 132.
  19. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Refworld - A Week of Terror in Drenica: Humanitarian Law Violations in Kosovo". Refworld. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  20. Rudic, Filip; Haxhiaj, Rexhepe (2018). "Kosovo's Panda Café Massacre Mystery Unsolved 20 Years On".
  21. Judah 2000, p. 193.
  22. "Four Serb Policemen Jailed for Suva Reka Massacre". 25 April 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  23. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Kosovo): After tragedy, justice?
  24. "UNDER ORDERS: War Crimes in Kosovo - 9. Orahovac Municipality". Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  25. "UNDER ORDERS: War Crimes in Kosovo - 5. Drenica Region". Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  26. HRW 2001, p. 167.
  27. HRW 2001, pp. 168, 171.
  28. HRW 2001, p. 173.
  29. HRW 2001, p. 228.
  30. HRW 2001, pp. 227–228.
  31. HRW 2001, pp. 305–306.
  32. HRW 2001, p. 307.
  33. HRW 2001, pp. 244–259.
  34. HRW 2001, p. 339.
  35. United Nations (22 February 2002). Yearbook of the United Nations 1999. United Nations Publications. pp. 367–. ISBN 978-92-1-100856-2. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  36. Yugoslav Survey 40, p. 120.
  37. Review of International Affairs. Federation of Yugoslav Journalists. 2000. p. 76.

Sources
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