The Izbica massacre ( sq, Masakra e Izbicës; sr-Latn, Pokolj u Izbici) was one of the largest massacres of the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

. Following the war, the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

(ICTY) found that the massacre resulted in the deaths of about 93 Kosovo Albanians, mostly male non-combatants between the ages of 60 and 70.

Background

During the

, Izbica was considered safe for

Kosovo Albanians The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-gr ...

from neighboring areas to take refuge, partly because of the

Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the ...

's presence. By 27 March, thousands of Kosovo Albanians from the

Drenica Drenica ( al, Drenicë, Drenica, ), also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering roughly around of Kosovo's total area (6%). It consists of two municipalities, Drenas and Skenderaj, and several villages in Klin ...

region had gathered in Izbica. Most civilians had come after NATO started bombing, when Yugoslav government forces began to shell the surrounding area.

Killings

The shelling of the village of Izbica began during the night of 27 March when a group of at least fifty Yugoslav soldiers, policemen and paramilitaries entered the village. They wore both camouflage and dark blue or black uniforms, and carried long knives. Some wore ski masks and others had their faces blackened with

greasepaint Foundation is a liquid, cream, or powder makeup applied to the face and neck to create an even, uniform color to the complexion, cover flaws and, sometimes, to change the natural skin tone. Some foundations also function as a moisturizer, sunscre ...

. On 28 March, nearly all of the adult men fled to the mountains, leaving mostly women, children, and old men in the village. In the field of Izbica, thousands of people were crowded that day, almost all women, children, and old people. Only about 150 men were among them. National security forces threatened to kill the villagers and demanded money. After they got the money, they separated the men from the women and children. Women and children were sent to Albania. The men were then executed with automatic weapons. Some women and old men were also executed.

War crime trials

The Izbica killings were cited in the

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

(ICTY) indictment of

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...

, and others. According to Sadik Xhemajli, a KLA fighter from Izbica who recorded the names of victims, 142 Kosovo Albanians from the village were killed between 28 March and 10 May 1999. In 2009, the ICTY ruled that approximately 93 people were killed on 28 March, mostly male civilians between the ages of 60 and 70.

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control 1999 in Kosovo 1999 murders in Europe Anti-Albanian sentiment Law enforcement in Serbia March 1999 crimes March 1999 events in Europe Massacres in 1999 Massacres in the Kosovo War Massacres of men Police brutality in Europe Serbian war crimes in the Kosovo War Violence against men in Europe

Background

Killings

War crime trials

See also

References

Bibliography