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Front page | World | Europe | Kosovo | Yugoslavia after Milosevic | Killing of Kosovo

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The Battle of KosovoThe Battle of Kosovo• To understand the war, one must look back to the 14th century

when Kosovo was the center of the Serbian empire and site of its most sacred churches and monasteries. In 1389, the Serbs lost the land to the Ottoman Turks in a decisive battle fought in Kosovo Polje, the Field of Blackbirds. The Battle of Kosovo is an event entrenched in the Serbian consciousness, uniting all Serbs who treasure Kosovo as their Jerusalem, their holy land.

• Over the next 500 years, neighboring Albanians continued to leave their homeland to settle in the region. By the time the Serbs reclaimed Kosovo in the Balkans Wars of 1912 to 1913, ethnic Albanians made up a significant portion of the population. They became a majority by the 1950s as their birth rate boomed and Serbs continued to migrate north. Today, 1.8 million ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs nine to one in Kosovo – a fact that combined with events of recent history compel ethnic Albanians to proclaim the land theirs.


One Land, two One Land, two

KosovosKosovos• During the long years of war in Slovenia, Croatia, • and Bosnia, Kosovo remained under the tight• control of Slobodan Milosevic.

• Shadow government• In 1991, Kosovo Albanians formed • a shadow government and elected • Ibrahim Rugova president. • Rugova’s call for independence • through peaceful means led to the • 1996 creation of a more militant • group, the UCK (KLA).UCK (KLA).


Rise of the KLARise of the KLA In 1996, the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK)Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) (established around 1991) claimed responsibility for a series of violent attacks and triggered warfare with Serbian troops that forced thousands to flee into neighboring Albania. By February 1998, a new military offensive Milosevic launched against the

separatists spurred reports that police were committing atrocities such as "ethnic cleansing.""ethnic cleansing." Adem JashariAdem Jashari

1st Commander UCK


2000 Unarmed Verifiers2000 Unarmed Verifiers• In October 1998, US special envoy Richard

Holbrooke, using the threat of NATO air strikes, negotiated with Milosevic to allow 2,000 unarmed verifiers into the province under

(Organization for Security and Cooperation In Europe) control to monitor the human rights situation and to attempt to forestall further violence. In the end, they proved no more effective than

UN peacekeepers in Bosnia

and have to be evacuated.

The violence continued to escalate.The violence continued to escalate.


• Finally a group of nations known as the Contact Group (the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia) brought both KosovoKosovo and SerbSerb negotiators together in Rambouillet, France, in March 1999 to agree to a peace plan.

• The agreement called for the KLAKLA to disarm, for Milosevic to drastically reduce his military presence in Kosovo, for autonomy to be restored to the province, and for a NATO peacekeeping force to be introduced.

• This was too little for the Kosovars, who wanted guarantees for full independence, and too much for Milosevic, who wanted to maintain complete control of the province and would not consider an outside military force on Serb soil.

RambouilletRambouillet


Attack on SerbiaAttack on Serbia

• After peace negotiations, sanctions, and the threat of NATO military intervention failed to halt the conflict, NATO renewed its threat of airstrikes in October after reports that the massacre of ethnic Albanian civilians was committed by Serbian troops.


Nato carried out its threat to bomb Serbia over Kosovo on 24 March 199924 March 1999, attacking a sovereign European country for the first time in the alliance's history. The first images of the Nato action were the pictures of cruise missiles launched from ships in the Adriatic into the night towards Yugoslavia.

By the following morning, reports and pictures of the damage began to emerge, with Serbian television showing pictures of the targets hit, in what was to become a familiar daily pattern.

Operation Allied ForceOperation Allied Force


The Answer…The Answer…

Milosevicís forces responded by an all-out campaign to ethnically cleanse Kosovo of its Albanian population, driving hundreds of thousands across the border into Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro.

Heavily armed Serb paramilitary forces, infamous for their tactics in Croatia and Bosnia, descended on Kosovo. At gunpoint they forced thousands of people from their homes, burning their towns and villages afterward.

Many civilians were summarily executed. Most had all their money taken and their documents destroyed.


• Within days of the first Nato strikes, hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians were on the move away from their homes, amid reports of atrocities by Serb forces and forced evictions at gunpoint.

• Neighbouring countries had to cope with a sudden mass influx of thousands of refugees across their borders. TV screens around the world were filled with images of weary and desperate people leaving their homeland.


• Many refugees spoke of appalling scenes as Serb units forcibly expelled people from Kosovo’s villages and towns. Aid workers said many refugees would carry the psychological scars for life.

• The journey into exile was a gruelling one for many.


PristinaPristinaSerbian police went to ethnic Albanian houses in Pristina at the beginning of April 1999 and forced residents to leave in minutes. A number of people were shot. These are some of their graves.


Celine Celine On the morning of March 25, 1999, Serb and Yugoslav forces surrounded the village of Celine. After shelling, troops entered the village. Here ethnic Albanian women mourn friends and relatives they say were killed in the attack.


RacakRacak

An ethnic Albanian inspects a decapitated body in Racak. On January 15, 1999, Serb forces entered the villages and shot anyone who tried to flee. Later they found a group of men in hiding and removed them for execution. The bodies of 45 of men, many of them mutilated, were found lying on a hillside.


Velika Krusa Velika Krusa

Burned corpses found in a barn near Velika Krusa, which are believed to be from a mass execution of ethnic Albanians. Residents took refuge in a forest as they watched Serb forces burn and loot their houses. The villagers were then discovered. The women were dispatched to Albania, 105 of the men and boys were shot. Hay was put on the corpses and burned


Izbica Izbica Around March 27, 1999, residents of Izbica took refuge in a meadow as Serb and Yugoslav forces attacked their village. The troops then approached the villagers and demanded money. The men were divided into two groups: one went to a nearby hill, another to a streambed. Both were shot, a total of 130. Approximately 100 are buried here.


Pec Pec An ethnic Albanian woman leads her children along a snowy road from Pec to Montenegro. On March 27 and 28, 1999, Serb and Yugoslav forces went from house to house in the city forcing ethnic Albanians to leave. Some houses were set on fire and a number of people were shot.


Bela CrkvaBela Crkva

Residents of Bela Crkva work to cover the graves at a mass burial ceremony in July 1999. Months earlier a Serb police patrol had entered the village, shot those who attempted to flee and robbed the remainder. The men were then ordered to strip. Sixty-five were moved to a streambed and shot by the police.


The Nato alliance deployed hundreds of aircraft in its air campaign against Yugoslavia in the biggest armed conflict seen in Europe since World War II. These included some of the most advanced - and expensive - aircraft and weapons systems in the world: Stealth fighters and bombers, Apache ground attack helicopters, laser-guided bombs and cruise missiles, directed with the aid of sophisticated satellite and electronic surveillance intelligence.


week twoweek two

• Nato intensifies its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, hitting government buildings in central Belgrade and key bridges. As the strikes continue, the flow of refugees from Kosovo increases massively. The appearance on Belgrade TV of three US soldiers captured by Serbia on the Macedonian border brings a new emphasis to the conflict for Americans.


US forces were joined by other Nato members. The French sent Mirage jet fighters, the UK contributed Harriers and Tornadoes and the German air force, the Luftwaffe, flew in anger for the first time since World War II.


week threeweek three

• Nato moved into the third week of its campaign with the heaviest bombardments of Serbia so far, and ended the week with an announcement that it was bringing in large-scale reinforcements.

• The week saw a public relations setback for Nato, with a missile strike hitting a passenger train, killing ten people. The

refugee crisis continued, and Nato ground troops were sent to Albania to help with relief efforts.


The B-2 Stealth bomberB-2 Stealth bomber, America's most advanced aircraft, went into action for the first time ever in the skies over Yugoslavia, delivering payloads of up to 40,000 lb of bombs including "smart" weapons.


• Nato's mistakeNato admits it bombed a refugee convoy near Prizren, leaving Kosovo refugees dead after a pilot mistook the civilian vehicles for Yugoslav military units.

fourth weekfourth week

Meanwhile, there was a fresh surge of refugees out of Kosovo, and air strikes across Yugoslavia continued.


The Nato bombing of a convoy on the Djakovica road left vehicles destroyed and the bodies of people who had been fleeing to safety strewn across the area. Serbian television broadcast footage of bodies and bomb craters after the Nato strike.


Throughout the conflict, Serbian television broadcast pictures of what it says are the real victims of the war - ordinary peopleordinary people who have suffered because of Nato's bombs.


The sheer numbers of refugees arriving put a massive strain on the host countries and aid workers. Agencies launched massive international appeals to feed and protect the displaced people.


Nato’s accidental bombing of refugees in Kosovo and the horrific images it produced shocked the world. Belgrade said more than 70 Kosovo Albanians were killed in the Nato attacks, in mid-April. After several days of confusion, Nato admitted its warplanes may have caused civilian casualties. The picture of a distraught boy in a yellow jumper slumped amid the carnage told the story of the tragedy on many of the world’s front pages. "Regrettably, I think it has been a confusing incident,"Nato spokesman Jamie Shea, speaking on BBC radio.


Nato's General Wesley ClarkNato's General Wesley Clark directed the media war from his Brussels headquarters. As bombing began, he told the media that Nato's aim was to maximise damage to Yugoslav forces and minimise civilian casualties.


Belgrade’s people have appeared defiant on Serbian TV, many holding symbolic targets against their chests. The city has held protest concerts and crowds spent the first weeks protecting bridges in all night vigils.


The accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade was a disaster for the alliance, and sparked huge demonstrations in China, and diplomatic protests at the United Nations.


Nato strikes: Day 29(21 April)

Nato hits Milosevic HQ

Nato hits the party headquarters of President Milosevic in Belgrade, after a day of reported Yugoslav troop action on the Albanian and Croatian borders and in Montenegro.


Nato said many of its weapons were highly advanced bombs and missiles, laser or satellite guided to hit military targets accurately rather than cause indiscriminate damage.

Amid speculation over whether Nato would launch a ground offensive, the US sent Apache attack helicopters to Albania. Two crashed in training.


2. month2. month• Nato moved into the second month of its bombing of Yugoslavia with strikes at targets in the heart of Belgrade closely associated with Slobodan Milosevic himself, including his residence and party headquarters.

• Ending its 50th anniversary summit, the Alliance warns that President Milosevic faced intensified bombing, an oil embargo and increasing isolation.


Nato seeks embargo solution

Nato is trying to patch up relations with Russia following a sharp disagreement over the alliance's plans to block oil supplies to Yugoslavia.

•Nato plans sea blockade


• The first missiles attacked targets outside the capital Belgrade.

• As the campaign escalated, targets in the centre of the city were also hit.


• Installations in the Kosovo provincial capital Pristina were among the first to be hit in the opening days of the Nato campaign.


• Nato argued that, as key elements in Yugoslavia's infrastructure, bridges were legitimate military targets, and many were hit, including this one across the River Danube in Novi Sad.

• As the air strikes continued week after week, the daily routine of life under bombardment took its toll on civilians throughout Yugoslavia.


The battle for hearts and minds was a prominent part of the Kosovo conflict. Nato's daily briefings included a strong political message along with the daily operational progress reports. The alliance also made a point of attacking the Serbian media, not just verbally, but with bombs and missiles aimed at transmitters, relay stations and, controversially, the headquarters of Serbian Television in the centre of Belgrade. For their part, the Serbian authorities kept up a steady media barrage condemning and ridiculing western leaders, while focusing on the damage caused by air strikes rather than the exodus of Kosovo refugees.


Several Kosovo Albanian village burns after they were set alight by Yugoslav forces.


General Sir Mike JacksonGeneral Sir Mike Jackson, the British head of K-For announced that he had secured the peace deal after days of on-off talks with Belgrade's representatives in a tent near to the Macedonian border with Kosovo.

As the Yugoslav units prepared to withdraw, K-For prepared its troops and armoured divisions to enter the

province after 77 days bombing.


K-For troops arrived in Kosovo after a week of delays in getting Belgrade's agreement to the "military technical agreement" - the withdrawal of Yugoslav and Serb forces. Kosovo Albanians who had spent weeks in hiding rushed onto the streets of cities, towns and villages as the 19-nation strong peacekeeping force arrived, cheering the soldiers that they saw as their liberators. Over 10 days K-For led by the UK, Germany, France, Italy and US soldiers quickly took control of the province and prepared the way home for the refugees.

12th June 199912th June 1999


Troops of every nationality were cheered everywhere they went, including these Irish Guardsmen from the UK when they arrived in Podujevo.


But the serious work was just beginning - securing the province, disarming the KLA and returning life to normal.

One of the first tests of the peace settlement was the disarming of the Kosovo Liberation Army. More than 10,000 weapons were handed in to peacekeepers by the end of September. The KLA was officially disbanded, and a 3,000-strong civilian defence body called the Kosovo Protection Corps was formed.


Structure:The Kosovo Protection CorpsKosovo Protection Corps will, where possible, mirror the existing Kosovo administrative regions. Maximum strength will be 5,000 members, of which about 3,000 will be full time, with 2,000 reservists. There will be a central staff in Pristina that will direct activities through six Regional Task Groups with headquarters planned for Pristina, Mitrovica, Urosevac, Prizren, Srbica and Pec. In addition, the fully-deployed Kosovo Protection Corps will include a training organization, a guard and rapid reaction group and a full range of supporting groups (i.e., communications, medical, engineer, maintenance, transport, environmental and aviation capabilities). The Special Representative of the Secretary-General may authorize a small number of specially selected and trained members of the Kosovo Protection Corps to carry weapons for the protection of individuals and facilities. Authorization to carry weapons will be contingent on completion of certification training by UNMIK Police.


As K-For troops took control of Kosovo, the feared second exodus of refugees began. This time it was the Kosovo Serbs heading north, fearing that they would feel the wrath of the Kosovo Liberation Army as it came out of the mountains. Many of these people were innocent victims of the war, just like their Kosovo Albanian neighbours. But as they left, they all said that they believed it would now be impossible for the two communities to live side by side. Nato leaders have urged the Serbs to stay - and some have chosen to return. But the Serb community's fears were heightened when KFOR's commander admitted that his troops had not done enough to stop a group of Kosovo Albanians attacking a Serb home.


After crossing the border from Kosovo, a Serb family from Suva Reka embarks on the last stage to the Yugoslav capital, Belgrade.

A Serbian boy looks wistfully out at his home town of Prizren, southern Kosovo, before leaving in a Nato-organised convoy of cars and buses for Serbia.


Tens of thousands of Kosovo Serbs took to the roads, fearing reprisals by returning ethnic Albanians and the KLA.


In scenes reminiscent of the earlier exodus by Kosovo Albanians, many families became separated in the rush to get out of Kosovo.


The refugee crisis ended as it began, with long convoys of tractors towing entire families as they returned over the mountains of northern Albania and Macedonia. It was an emotional reversal of the appalling journey the Kosovo Albanian people made earlier in the year. As aid agencies predicted - and KFOR feared - refugees began preparing to return within days of the end of air strikes - despite warnings that large parts of Kosovo had been heavily mined and were not safe to enter.By the time Serb units had finally pulled out of Kosovo, around 140,000 had already crossed back into the province. Helping these people return their lives to normal will take a lot longer.


Within days of the Nato ceasefire, thousands of Kosovo refugees demanded to be allowed back home. Thousands queued at Blace, northern Macedonia.

Families, like those of Bujar Sylaj, celebrated as they crossed the border and came closer and closer to the homes they feared they might never have seen again.


UN aid agencies and KFOR warned the thousands of people crossing the border that the route ahead would be dangerous - roads had been littered with landmines and homes booby-trapped.


The reconstruction will take years. But for many people like Brahim Krasmiqi, what mattered was that the family had been reunited, the terror coming to an end.


Burying their dead was one of the tasks awaiting many Kosovo Albanians who returned home. Hundreds of people took part in this mass funeral for 46 Kosovo Albanians killed during the conflict. Their relatives now have to pick up the remaining pieces of their lives.

For the international peacekeepers, the main challenge is to get Albanians and Serbs to live with each other again.

Nato may have won the war, but the peace has yet to be secured for the people of

Kosovo.


A team of 30,000 Nato-led peacekeeping troops, known as KFORKFOR, was given the task of policing the province. Their greatest challenge has been stemming the tide

of ethnic hatred between the two communities.


The divided town of Mitrovica has become a major flashpoint in post-war KosovoKosovo. This Albanian is trying to cross the bridge into the mainly Serb northern part of town, but is being restrained by KFOR soldiers.


Thousands of Kosovo Albanians were killed during the conflict. Their bodies were buried in mass graves, such as this one. United Nations investigators have exhumed hundreds of bodies.


Despite the arrival of KFOR, hundreds of Serbs have been killed in revenge attacks. These are the bodies of Serb farmers who were among a group of 14 shot dead near Gracko as they returned from harvesting hay.

United Nations investigators have begun the grisly task of unearthing the thousands of dead bodies buried in mass graves. By November - after excavating about a third of the 529 grave sites identified by the International Criminal Tribunal - they had exhumed more than 2,000 bodies. The actual fatality figure is likely to be much higher.


More than 2000 victims have been recovered from More than 2000 victims have been recovered from mass graves in 1999. Executions and massacres are mass graves in 1999. Executions and massacres are estimated to have claimed the lives of up to 10000.estimated to have claimed the lives of up to 10000.


On 10 June 1999, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1244Resolution 1244

authorizing the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)

to begin the long process of building peace, democracy, stability and self-government in

the shattered province.


UNMIK POLICE – KFORUNMIK POLICE – KFORTRANSITION PROCESSTRANSITION PROCESS

UNMIK POLICE – KFORUNMIK POLICE – KFORTRANSITION PROCESSTRANSITION PROCESS

TRANSITION PROCEDURETRANSITION PROCEDURETRANSITION PROCEDURETRANSITION PROCEDURE

KFOR hold full responsibility UNMIK Police assist & advise KFOR hold full responsibility UNMIK Police assist & advise

UNMIK Police hand over responsibilities to the KKosovo PPolice SService and prepare exit strategyUNMIK Police hand over responsibilities to the KKosovo PPolice SService and prepare exit strategy

PHASE 1PHASE 1

PHASE 3PHASE 3

PHASE 2PHASE 2

UNMIK Police assume graduallyUNMIK Police assume gradually

• investigative authority

• authority for protection and patrolling

UNMIK Police assume graduallyUNMIK Police assume gradually

• investigative authority

• authority for protection and patrolling

JOINT SECURITY OPERATIONSJOINT SECURITY OPERATIONSJOINT SECURITY OPERATIONSJOINT SECURITY OPERATIONS


the end ???the end ???

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