List of massacres in Kosovo

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

Contents

Ottoman period

EventDateLocationDeathsPerpetratorVictimsDescription
1878 attacks 1878 Kosovo vilayet Albanian refugeesSerbsIncoming 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. [1]
1898–1899 attacks 1898-1899 Old Serbia AlbaniansSerbs [2]
1901 massacres of Serbs 1901 Pristina and Ibarski Kolašin AlbaniansSerbs [3]
Takeover of Pristina~23 October 1912 Pristina 5,000 [4] Serbian armyAlbanians First Balkan War [5]
Takeover of Ferizaj24 October 1912 Ferizaj 1,200Serbian armyAlbanians First Balkan War [6] [7] [8]
Takeover of Prizren1912 Prizren 5,000 [9] Serbian and Montenegrin armiesAlbanians First Balkan War
Leshkobare massacre1912 Lloshkobare 8Serbian armyAlbanians First Balkan War [6]
Torching of Bobaj1912 Bobaj Serbian armyAlbaniansAll inhabitants of Bobaj were killed. [7]
Extermination of Opoja and Restelica1912-1913Opoja and Restelica thousandsSerbian armyAlbaniansSerbian troops were ordered to exterminate the population of the villages of Opoja, Gora, Bellobrad, Brrut, Rrenc, Bresanë, Zym and Qafëleshi. [10]
Razing of Peja1912-1913 Peja Serbian army and ChetniksAlbanians [11] [12] [13]
Bytyci massacre1913 Highlands of Gjakova 51Serbian armyAlbanians First Balkan War [14]
Massacre of the Rugova tribe1913 Rugova Montenegrin armyAlbaniansEvery man of the Rugova tribe was reportedly killed. [15]
Vushtrri killings1913 Vushtrri Serbian armyAlbanians [16]

World War I

EventDateLocationDeathsPerpetratorVictimsDescription
Astrazubi massacre1914 Malisheva 227Serbian armyAlbanians90% of the houses in Astrazubi were destroyed. [17]
Peja massacres1914 Peja Serbian armyAlbanians25 civilians were killed each day. [18]
Lubishtë massacre1914 Lubishtë 104Serbian armyAlbanians [19]
Julekar massacre1914 Viti 24Serbian armyAlbanians [19]
Attack on Bytyci1915 Highlands of Gjakova Serbian armyAlbaniansThe Ushki family almost completely killed, with only one survivor. [14]
Bombardment of Vechali1915 PrizrenTetovo 65Serbian armyAlbaniansThe Serbian army shelled the village of Vecali. [20]

Interwar period

EventDateLocationDeathsPerpetratorVictimsDescription
Rugova massacre 16 February 1919 Rugova 842Army of Kingdom of Yugoslavia Albanian civilians [21] [22] [23]
Mitrovica killings1919-1921 Mitrovica 1,330Army of Kingdom of Yugoslavia Albanian civilians [24]
Peja killings1919-1921 Peja 1,563Army of Kingdom of Yugoslavia Albanian civilians [24]
Prizren killings1919-1921 Prizren 4,600Army of Kingdom of Yugoslavia Albanian civilians [24]
Ferizaj killings1919-1921 Ferizaj 1,694Army of Kingdom of Yugoslavia Albanian civilians [24]
Keqekolla massacreJanuary 1921 Keqekollë Army of Kingdom of Yugoslavia Albanian civilians [25] [26]
Prapashtica massacreJanuary 1921 Prapashticë Army of Kingdom of Yugoslavia Albanian civilians [25] [26]
Dushkajë massacre1921 Dushkajë 63Army of Kingdom of Yugoslavia Albanian civilians [27]
Dubnica massacre10 February 1924Dubnica25Army of Kingdom of Yugoslavia Albanian civilians [28]

World War II

EventDateLocationDeathsPerpetratorVictimsDescription
Massacres of Kosovo SerbsApril-May 1941Districts of Peja, Djakovica, Istok and Drenica162AlbaniansSerbsMassacres accompanied by expulsions and burning down of villages. [29]
Istok killings 1941-1943 Istok 275AlbaniansSerbs [30]
Goraždevac killings1941 Goraždevac, near Peja47AlbaniansSerbs [30]
Ibarski Kolašin massacres 30 September–10 October 1941 Ibarski Kolašin 150AlbaniansSerbs22 villages also burnt down. [30]
Ibarski Kolašin killings1942-1943Ibarski Kolašin130AlbaniansSerbs [30]
June 1942 Pristina killings Late June 1942Pristina area100AlbaniansSerbs [31]
Vareška Reka massacre June 194315AlbaniansSerbs [30]
Trepča mine executions3-7 June 1943Trepča mine, Mitrovica64AlbaniansSerbsMass shooting of Serbs by Albanians, Albanian gendarmerie and prison guards at the Trepča mine prison, most of whom were workers that had fallen ill, and among whom several were peasants from the Mitrovica vicinity. [32]
Uroševac massacre11–12 September 1943Uroševac area60AlbaniansSerbs48 were killed in the town itself, while 12 others were taken out of town and killed after being tortured. The unit responsible was commanded by Amdija Jašarević. [33]
Nekodim, Baroš Selo, Duganjevo and Plešina murders12–13 September 1943Nekodim, Baroš Selo, Duganjevo and PlešinaUnknownAlbaniansSerbs [34]
Žerovnica killings10 October 1943Žerovnica6AlbaniansSerbs [35]
Brestovik mass killing13 October 1943Brestovik19AlbaniansSerbs19 Serbs in the Serb village of Brestovik near Peja were killed by Albanian quislings on 13 October 1943. Before the Italian capitulation (September 1943), 12 villagers had also been killed. [35]
Rakoš massacreOctober 1943Rakoš65AlbaniansSerbsSerbs shot by Albanians in Rakoš, a village half-way between Kosovska Mitrovica and Peć. [30]
Peja massacresLate 1943Peja230AlbaniansSerbs [36]
Tople Vode massacre1944Kačanik13Bulgarian forcesSerbs13 Serbs from the village of Vrbeštica shot by Bulgarian forces. [35]
Štrpce massacre 30 June 1944 Štrpce 50Bulgarian militarySerbsSerbs shot after the death of a Bulgarian soldier. [35]

Kosovo War

EventDateLocationDeathsPerpetratorVictimsDescription
Attacks on Likošane and Ćirez 28 February–1 March 1998Likošane and Ćirez, near Glogovac 26Serbian special policeAlbanian civiliansOperation against Albanian civilians.
Attack on Prekaz 5–7 March 1998Prekaz, near Skenderaj 58VJ, SAJKLA, Albanian civiliansoperation led by the Special Anti-Terrorism Unit of Serbia which lasted from 5-7 March 1998, which goal was to eliminate Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) suspects and their families. [37] [38] During the operation, KLA leader Adem Jashari and his brother Hamëz were killed, along with nearly 60 other family members.
Volujak Massacre 17-19 July 1998 Volujak 25KLASerbian civiliansAccording to Serb authorities, 25 male Kosovo Serb civilians were executed. Serbia attributes the killings to the KLA "Orahovac group" [39]
Klečka killings 17–22 July 1998 Klečka 22KLASerbian civiliansKLA used cremation chambers to burn bodies of killed Serbian civilians, covering up the crime. 22 bodies were identified from remains. [40]
Mališevo mass grave 17-20 July 1998 Mališevo 13KLASerbian civilians12 Serbs and 1 Bulgarian were kidnapped and then executed by the KLA in Mališevo between 17-20 July 1998
Orahovac Massacre 17-20 July 1998 Orahovac 47KLASerbian civiliansMore than 100 Serbian and Roma civilians from Orahovac and its surrounding villages - Retimlje, Opterusa, Zočište and Velika Hoca - in western Kosovo were kidnapped and placed in prison camps by KLA fighters; 47 were massacred
Lake Radonjić massacre Before 9 September 1998 Glođane 34KLASerbs, AlbaniansOn 9 September 1998 the Serbian police announced the finding of a mass grave. By 16 September 34 bodies were gathered. Victims included some Albanians. [41] [42]
Gornje Obrinje massacre 26 September 1998Gornje Obrinje21Serbian special policeKLA, Albanian civiliansOperation against KLA, in retaliation of at least 14 killed Serbian policemen, subsequent massacre with HRW claiming 21 civilians. [43]
Golubovac executions 26 September 1998Golubovac13Serbian paramilitaryKLA or Albanian civiliansFollowing Gornje Obrinje, [44] summary execution of men suspected of being KLA. [45]
Panda Bar massacre 14 December 1998 Peja 6Serbian Secret ServiceSerbian civilians6 Serb civilians killed and 14 wounded in attack on café in Peja. The KLA was accused at the time of the events, but strongly rejected any involvement. The Serbian Organised Crime Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation in 2016 and reached the conclusion that the massacre was not perpetrated by Albanians. [46] any years after the incident, the Serbian government officially acknowledged that it was perpetrated by agents of the Serbian Secret Service. [47]
Račak massacre 15 January 1999Račak45 SAJ, JSO KLA, Albanian civiliansOperation against KLA (9 suspected KLA killed), including killings of civilians. [48] Controversial topic.
Mitrovica massacre 13 March 1999Bazaar of Mitrovica6Serbian policeAlbanian civiliansAfter three grenades were thrown at the market, six people died, over 128 others were injured, many of them remained disabled for life. [49]
Velika Kruša massacre 25 March 1999Velika Kruša90–105Serbian special policeAlbanian civilians
Bela Crkva massacre 25 March 1999Bela Crkva62Serbian special police and paramilitaryAlbanian civilians
Suva Reka massacre 26 March 1999 Suva Reka 48Serbian policeAlbanian civiliansMembers 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. [50]
Imeraj massacre 26 March 1999 Pemishtë/Cërkolez 19Serbian military police & paramilitariesAlbanian civiliansSerbian forces entered the village of Pemishtë/Cërkolez and killed 19 Albanian civilians, all members of the Imeraj family, including 13 women and children. [51] [52]
Izbica massacre 28 March 1999 Kosovo 93VJ, police and paramilitaryAlbaniansAfter shelling of the village of Izbica, ca. 93, mostly male non-combatants, were executed.
Podujevo massacre 28 March 1999 Podujevo 14Serbian security forces, Scorpions Albanian civiliansSecurity forces gunned down 19 people in the town of Podujevo, killing 14 people and injuring 5, whom were children [53]
Ljubižda massacre 31 March 1999near Prizren, Kosovo14Serbian forcesAlbanian civiliansSecurity forces reportedly shot 14 men in the village of Ljubižda, northwest of Prizren. [54]
Pusto Selo massacre 31 March 1999Pusto Selo near Orahovac, Kosovo 106Serbian forcesKLA or Albanian civiliansThe men were allegedly KLA sympathizers. [55] [54]
Rezala massacre 5 April 1999Rezala80Serbian forcesAlbanian civiliansSerbian police allegedly entered the Albanian village of Rezala and gunned down at least 80 villagers suspected of harbouring KLA guerrillas. [56]
Gjakova bombing 14 April 1999Gjakova73NATOAlbanian refugeesNATO accidentally bomb Albanian refugees in Gjakova.
Slovinje massacre 15-16 April 1999Slovinje near Lipljan 35-44Serbian security forcesAlbaniansBetween 35 and 44 people were shot and executed by Serbian police and paramillitaries in Slovinje and the immediate villages surrounding it (notably Smolusa) [57] [58]
Poklek massacre 17 April 199947Serbian policeAlbaniansKLA were active in the area, while a KLA checkpoint was set up in neighbouring Vasiljevo. [59] According to testimonies, 47 people forced into a room were shot by an unidentified single gunman. [60]
Ćikatovo massacre 17 April 1999Staro Ćikatovo24Serbian forcesAlbanians24 men of the Morina family were killed during a day-long raid by Serbian forces. [61] Although survivors claimed that none of the killed were involved with the KLA, several members of the family are admitted KLA members. [61]
Meja massacre 27 April 1999Meja near Gjakova 377Serbian forcesAlbanian civiliansSerbian forces retaliate for the KLA killing of five Serbian policemen in Meja on 21 April, by mass killings on 27 April in that village. [62] 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. [63] Newer figures raise the number dead to at least 377. [64]
Lužane bus bombing 1 May 1999Lužane23–60NATOSerbian civiliansNATO missile attack on bridge.
Vushtrri massacre 2–3 May 1999 Vushtrri, Kosovo120Serbian forcesAlbanian civiliansAlbanian 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 1999Koriša87NATOAlbanian refugeesNATO bombed a column of Albanian refugees, killing at least 87 and wounding 60.
Ćuška massacre 14 May 1999Ćuška41Serbian security forcesAlbaniansAn estimated twelve men killed in round-up, 29 men gathered into three houses and gunned down. [65] Unclear motive. [66]
Bilbildere massacre 16 May 1999Prizren2Serbian paramillitariesAlbanians2 men were captured by Arkan's Tigers and were summarily executed. [67]
Dubrava Prison massacre 22–23 May 1999Dubrava79–82Serbian prison guardsAlbanian inmatesInmates were extrajudicially killed or summary executed on 22 and 23 May following NATO bombings on 19 May. [68]
Tusus massacre 26 May 1999Prizren27–34Serbian forcesAlbaniansSerbian forces kill 27–34 people and burn over 100 homes. [69] Retaliation for at least two killed policemen on crossing street that morning by KLA. [69]

Aftermath of Kosovo War

EventDateLocationDeathsPerpetratorVictimsDescription
Peja killing12 June 1999 Peja 7Serbian forcesAlbanian civiliansSix members of a family were killed and one was captured and found dead. [70]
Gnjilane massacre June–October 1999 Peja 51KLASerbian civiliansKLA's Gnjilane Group burned homes and murdered Serbs and other non-Albanian civilians. The remains of 51 Serbs were discovered in mass graves in 1999.
Staro Gracko massacre 23 July 1999 Lipjan 14KLASerbian civiliansMass 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. [71]
Ugljare massacre Before August 1999Ugljare15KLASerbsKFOR reports on 25 August 1999 the finding of 15 bodies of killed Serbs. [72] Killed months prior, the bodies were concealed by the KFOR. [73]
Klokot killings 16 August 1999 Klokot 2Albanian extremistsSerbian civiliansOn 16 August 1999, after the Kosovo War, a mortar attack carried out by Albanians killed two Serb civilians and wounded five others in the village. There had earlier that month been two mortar attacks. [74] [75]
Mitrovica massacre3-4 February 2000North Mitrovica10Serbian extremistsAlbanian civiliansSerbian extremists stormed the houses of 10 Albanian civilians and murdered them on the nights of 3-4 February 2000. [76] [77] [78]
Cernica Killings 28 May 2000Cernica3Albanian extremistsSerbian civiliansThree Serbs including a four year old child were murdered in cold blood during a drive-by shooting in Cernica, a village south of Gnjilane. [40]
Podujevo bus bombing 16 February 2001Podujevo12Albanian extremistsSerbian civilians12 dead and 40 wounded in bombing attack on bus convoy carrying Serbs traveling to Serb enclave Gračanica to visit family graves.
Stolic Family Massacre 3 June 2003Obilić3Serbian civiliansThree Serbs were axed to death. The house was then set on fire. [79]
Goraždevac murders 13 August 2003Goraždevac2Albanian extremistsSerbian civiliansShots fired from Albanian village on the Serb enclave kills two, an adult and a child, and wounding four.
2004 unrest in Kosovo 17-18 March 2004Kosovo16AlbaniansSerbian civiliansOn 17 and 18 March 2004, a wave of violent riots swept through Kosovo, 16 Serbs and 11 Albanians were killed during the unrest. Over 935 Serbian houses and 35 Churches were burned and destroyed. Over 4000 Serbs were expelled from Kosovo.
Talinoc Killings 6 July 2012 Talinoc i Muhaxhirëve 2Serbian civiliansA married Serb couple, war refugees who had returned to the village, were murdered in their house on 6 July 2012. After the murders, the village Serbs asked the government to secure their relocation to either Strpce or Gracanica, or else they were to leave for Central Serbia.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kosovo War</span> 1998–1999 armed conflict in Kosovo

The Kosovo War, was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It was fought between the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which controlled Kosovo before the war, and the Kosovo Albanian separatist militia known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The conflict ended when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intervened by beginning air strikes in March 1999 which resulted in Yugoslav forces withdrawing from Kosovo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kosovo Liberation Army</span> Ethnic-Albanian nationalist paramilitary organization (1992–1999)

The Kosovo Liberation Army 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 1990s. Albanian nationalism was a central tenet of the KLA and many in its ranks supported the creation of a Greater Albania, which would encompass all Albanians in the Balkans, stressing Albanian culture, ethnicity and nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kachaks</span>

Kachaks is a term used for the Albanian rebels active in the late 19th and early 20th century in northern Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia, and later as a term for the militias of Albanian revolutionary organizations against the Kingdom of Serbia (1910–18) Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–24), called the "Kaçak movement".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adem Jashari</span> Commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (1955–1998)

Adem Jashari was one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a Kosovo Albanian separatist militia which fought for the secession of Kosovo from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drenica</span> Historical region of Kosovo

Drenica, also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering roughly around 700 square kilometres (270 sq mi) of Kosovo's total area (6%). It consists of two municipalities, Drenas and Skenderaj, and several villages in Klina, Zubin Potok, Mitrovica and Vushtrri. It is located west of the capital, Pristina.

The Gornje Obrinje massacre refers to the killing of 21 Kosovo Albanians, belonging to the same family, in a forest outside the village of Donje Obrinje on 26 September 1998 by Serbian Police Forces during the Kosovo War. Among the victims were women and children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gollak</span> Historical and geographical region of Kosovo

Gollak or Gallap is a mountainous and ethnographic region in the eastern part of Kosovo and partially in Serbia, bordering the Llap region to the North, the Kosovo field to the west, the Anamorava valley to the south and straddling along the border with Serbia. The cities of Prishtina and Gjilan in Kosovo are located by the mountains. The highest peak, Gollak-Lisica, has an elevation of 1,186 m (3,891 ft) above sea level. Gollak itself is split into Upper Gollak and Lower Gollak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Izbica massacre</span> 1999 massacre during the Kosovo War

The Izbica massacre was one of the largest massacres of the Kosovo War. Following the war, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) found that the massacre resulted in the deaths of about 93 Kosovar Albanians, mostly male non-combatant civilians between the ages of 60 and 70.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edith Durham</span> 19th and 20th-century British artist and author

Mary Edith Durham, was a British artist, anthropologist and writer who is best known for her anthropological accounts of life in Albania in the early 20th century. Her advocacy on behalf of the Albanian cause and her Albanophilia gained her the devotion of many Albanians who consider her a national heroine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azem Galica</span> Albanian nationalist (1889–1924)

Azem Bejta, commonly known as Azem Galica, was an Albanian nationalist, resistance fighter and rebel who fought for the unification of Kosovo with Albania. He is known for leading the Kachak Movement against the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attack on Prekaz</span> 1998 military operation

The Attack on Prekaz, also known as the Prekaz massacre, was an operation led by the Special Anti-Terrorism Unit of Serbia which lasted from 5 to 7 March 1998, whose goal was to eliminate Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) suspects and their families. During the operation, KLA leader Adem Jashari and his brother Hamëz were killed, along with nearly 60 other family members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massacres of Albanians in the Balkan Wars</span> Killings of Albanians during the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913

The massacres of Albanians in the Balkan Wars were perpetrated on several occasions by the Serbian and Montenegrin armies and paramilitaries during the conflicts that occurred in the region between 1912 and 1913. During the 1912–13 First Balkan War, Serbia and Montenegro committed a number of war crimes against the Albanian population after expelling Ottoman Empire forces from present-day Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia, which were reported by the European, American and Serbian opposition press. Most of the crimes occurred between October 1912 and the summer of 1913. The goal of the forced expulsions and massacres was statistical manipulation before the London Ambassadors Conference to determine the new Balkan borders. According to contemporary accounts, around 20,000 to 25,000 Albanians were killed in the Kosovo Vilayet during the first two to four months, before the violence climaxed. The total number of Albanians that were killed in Kosovo and Macedonia or in all Serbian occupied regions during the Balkan Wars is estimated to be at least 120,000. Most of the victims were children, women and the elderly. In addition to the massacres, some civilians had their lips and noses severed. Multiple historians, scholars, and contemporary accounts refer to or characterize the massacres as a genocide of Albanians or the Muslim population in the Balkans as a whole. Further massacres against Albanians occurred during the First World War and continued during the interwar period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drenica massacres</span> Mass killings in Kosovo

The Drenica massacres were a series of killings of Kosovo Albanian civilians committed by Serbian special police forces in the Drenica region of central Kosovo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War crimes in the Kosovo War</span> War crimes committed during the Kosovo War

Numerous war crimes were committed by all sides during the Kosovo War, which lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. According to Human Rights Watch, the vast majority of abuses were attributable to the government of Slobodan Milošević, mainly perpetrated by the Serbian police, the Yugoslav army, and Serb paramilitary units. During the war, regime forces killed between 7,000–9,000 Kosovar Albanians, engaged in countless acts of rape, destroyed entire villages, and displaced nearly one million people. The Kosovo Liberation Army has also been implicated in atrocities, such as kidnappings and summary executions of civilians. Moreover, the NATO bombing campaign has been harshly criticized by human rights organizations and the Serbian government for causing roughly 500 civilian casualties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yugoslav colonization of Kosovo</span> Attempts to bring Kosovo under control of Serbia and Montenegro

The colonization of Kosovo was a programme begun by the kingdoms of Montenegro and Serbia in the early twentieth century and later implemented by their successor state Yugoslavia at certain periods of time from the interwar era (1918–1941) until 1999. Over the course of the twentieth century, Kosovo experienced four major colonisation campaigns that aimed at altering the ethnic population balance in the region, to decrease the Albanian population and replace them with Montenegrins and Serbs. Albanians formed the ethnic majority in the region when it became part of Yugoslavia in early twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peasant Revolt (Albania)</span> Uprising of peasants from Albania

The Peasant Revolt, also known as the Muslim uprising, was an uprising of peasants from central Albania, mostly Muslims against the regime of Wilhelm, Prince of Albania during 1914. It was one of the reasons for the prince's withdrawal from the country which marked the fall of the Principality of Albania. The uprising was led by Muslim leaders Haxhi Qamili, Arif Hiqmeti, Musa Qazimi and Mustafa Ndroqi. Along with a demand of total amnesty, the rebels required the return of Albania to the suzerainty of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Ismail Nikoçi (1876-1919) was an Albanian political activist from Gucia in present-day Montenegro and mayor of that town. He played a significant role in the defense of the national rights of the Albanian ethnic community in Plava-Gucia in the period from its annexation to Montenegro in the Balkans Wars to its final annexation to Yugoslavia in 1919.

Zhabel is a village in the Dushkaja subregion in the Gjakova municipality of Kosovo. It is inhabited exclusively by Albanians.

Kosovo during the First World War was initially, for about a year, completely filled with Serbian military forces, which retreated towards Albania to continue further to Corfu. After the occupation of the territories by Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Bulgaria as allies in the First World War, the occupied territories were divided. The years 1915–1918 in the occupied Bulgarian zone are considered the most tragic years of poverty and hunger for the population of this part of Kosovo. The lack of bread was felt not only because of the drought, but also because the invaders confiscated the people's grain. Unlike the Bulgarian occupation zone, the Austro-Hungarians pursued a policy aimed at benefiting the general populace. They began to disregard some national rights, which for Albanians had vital value.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massacres of Albanians in World War I</span> Killings of Albanian civilians during the First World War

The massacres of Albanians in World War I were a series of war crimes committed by Serbian, Montenegrin, Greek and Bulgarian troops against the Albanian civil population of Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo during and immediately before the Great War. These atrocities followed the previous massacres committed during the Balkan Wars. In 1915, Serbian troops enacted a scorched-earth policy in Kosovo, massacring tens of thousands of Albanians. Between 1912 and 1915, 132 Albanian villages were razed to the ground.

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