page_title: War crimes in the Kosovo War
section_title: Massacres of civilians
hierarchical_section_title: War crimes in the Kosovo War / Serbian war crimes / Massacres of civilians
caption_attribution_description: English: Vushtrri
context_page_description: A series of war crimes were committed during the Kosovo War. The forces of the Slobodan Milošević regime committed rape, killed many Albanian civilians and expelled them during the war, alongside the widespread destruction of civilian, cultural and religious property. According to the Human Rights Watch, the vast majority of the violations from January 1998 to April 1999 were attributable to Serbian police or the Yugoslav army. Violations also included abuses committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army, such as kidnappings, organ theft and summary executions of members of Serbian community, members of other minorities and Albanians who were considered traitors.
context_section_description: Račak massacre (or "Operation Račak") on 15 January 1999 – 45 Albanians were rounded up and killed by Serbian special forces. The first forensic report, by a joint Yugoslavian and Belarusian team, concluded that those killed were not civilians. The massacre provoked a shift in Western policy towards the war.
  Suva Reka massacre on 26 March 1999 – 48 Albanian civilians killed, among them many children.
  Podujevo massacre – 19 Albanian civilians were killed, including women, children and the elderly.
  Massacre at Velika Kruša – According to the ICTY, Serbian Special Anti-Terrorist Units murdered 42 persons. There were also allegations of mass rape.
  Izbica massacre – Serbian forces killed about 93 Albanian civilians.
  Drenica massacre – there were 29 identified corpses discovered in a mass-grave, committed by Serbian law enforcement.
  Gornje Obrinje massacre – 18 corpses were found, but more people were slaughtered.
  Ćuška massacre – 41 known victims.
  Bela Crkva massacre – 62 known fatalities
  Meja massacre – at least 300 persons were killed by Serbian police and paramilitary forces in May 1999.
  Orahovac massacre – Estimates range from 50 to more than 200 ethnic Albanians killed
  Dubrava Prison massacre – Prison guards killed more than 70 Albanian prisoners in Dubrava Prison.
  Poklek massacre – 17 April 1999 – at least 47 people were forced into one room and systematically gunned down. The precise number of dead is unknown, although it is certain that 23 children under the age of fifteen were killed in the massacre.
  Vučitrn massacre – More than 100 Kosovo refugees were killed by Serbian Police.
caption: Memorial to Albanian victims in Vučitrn
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