Serbia in the Balkan Wars The Kingdom of Serbia was one of the main parties in the Balkan Wars during the early twentieth century . Serbia , victorious in two Balkan wars , gained significant territorial areas of the Central Balkans and almost doubled its territory . During the Balkan Wars of 1912 , most of Kosovo was taken from the Ottoman Empire by the Kingdom of Serbia while the region of Metohija ( known as the Dukagjini Valley to ethnic Albanians ) was taken by the Kingdom of Montenegro . Over the centuries , populations of ethnic Serbs and Albanians tended to shift following territorial handovers . As a result of the multi - ethnic composition of Kosovo , the new administrations provoked a mixed response from the local population . Whilst Albanians did not welcome Serbian rule , the non - Albanian population in Kosovo ( largely Serb but other Slavic ethnicities too ) considered this a liberation . After the First Balkan War of 1912 , Kosovo was internationally recognised as a part of Serbia and northern Metohija as a part of Montenegro at the Treaty of London in May 1913 . In 1918 , Serbia became a part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs , Croats and Slovenes , later named Yugoslavia . Disagreements regarding the territory of Macedonia among the members of the Balkan League led to the Second Balkan War . Here , Serbia and Greece fought against Bulgaria in 1913 . Finalisations concerning which country took which parts were ratified at the Treaty of Bucharest the same year . Serbia came to control the land which became known as " Vardar Macedonia " , which today stands independent as the Republic of Macedonia . History . At the end of 1912 , the Kingdom of Serbia occupied most of the Albanian - populated territory to the Adriatic coast . The army of Montenegro was present around Shkodër . During the attempt to annex the lands , Serbian and Montenegrin armies committed numerous crimes against the local Albanian population . In order to investigate the crimes , the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace formed a special commission , which was sent to the Balkans in 1913 . Summing the situation in Albanian areas , the Commission concludes : The number of victims in the Kosovo Vilayet under Serbian control in the first few months was estimated at about 25 , 000 people . The Serbian government has denied reports on war crimes . After this war , Kosovo was part of Kingdom of Serbia . These events have greatly contributed to the growth of the Serbian - Albanian conflict . Campaign within Albanian declared territory . The Serbian campaign on present - day Albanian territory ( then still officially Ottoman Empire ) took place during the First Balkan War , and lasted from November 1912 to October 1913 . Prior to the outbreak of the First Balkan War , the Albanian nation was fighting for a national state . At the end of 1912 , after the Porte recognised the autonomy of Albania , the Balkan League ( comprising three neighboring states : Serbia , Montenegro and Greece ; along with Bulgaria ) jointly attacked the Ottoman Empire and during the next few months partitioned all Ottoman territory inhabited by Albanians . The Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Greece occupied most of the land of what is today Albania and other lands inhabited by Albanians on the Adriatic coast . Montenegro occupied a part of today ' s northern Albania around Shkodër . Aspirations . At the dawn of the Balkan wars , Serbia had aspirations of reclaiming " historic Serbian territory " beyond its southern border , which was called Old Serbia . On the eve of the war , Serbian propaganda implemented a strong anti - Albanian campaign . In particular , Serbia had strong reasons to take part of the Albanian Adriatic coast , as the Serbian writer and geographer Jovan Cvijić said : Occupation . At the end of 1912 , after the Porte recognised the autonomy of Albanian Vilayet , neighboring Balkan states Serbia , Montenegro , Bulgaria and Greece jointly attacked the Ottoman Empire and during the next few months partitioned nearly all Ottoman territories in Europe , including those inhabited by the Albanians . In 1912 , with the outbreak of the First Balkan War , the Albanians rose up and declared the creation of an independent Albania , which included today ' s Albania and the Vilayet of Kosovo . The Kingdom of Serbia occupied most of the Albanian claimed lands . Serbian general Božidar Janković was the Commander of the Serbian Third Army during the military campaign in the region . The Serbian army met strong Albanian guerrilla resistance , led by Isa Boletini , Azem Galica and others . During the campaign , General Janković forced notables and local tribal leaders to sign a declaration of gratitude to King Petar I Karađorđević admitting to " Liberation by the Serbian army " . During the campaign , the Serbian army committed numerous crimes against the Albanian population " with a view to the entire transformation of the ethnic character of these regions . " After the Luma massacre , the " Daily Telegraph " reported the following : " All the horrors of history have been outdone by the atrocious conduct of the troops of General Janković " . The Serbian government has officially denied reports of war crimes . A series of massacres were committed by the Serbian and Montenegrin Army and paramilitaries , according to international reports . During the First Balkan War of 1912 - 13 , Serbia and Montenegro – after expelling the Ottoman forces in present - day Albania and Kosovo – committed numerous war crime s against the Albanian population , which were reported by the European , American and Serbian opposition press . In order to investigate the crimes , the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace formed a special commission , which was sent to the Balkans in 1913 . Summing the situation in Albanian areas , Commission concludes : The goal of the expulsions and massacres of ethnic Albanians was a statistic manipulation before the London Ambassadors Conference which was to decide on the new Balkan borders . The number of victims in the Vilayet of Kosovo under Serbian control in the first few months was estimated at about 25 , 000 people . The highest estimated number of casualties during the occupation in all the areas under Serbian control was about 120 , 000 Albanians . Even one Serb Social Democrat who had served in the army previously , commented on the disgust he had for the crimes his own people had committed against the Albanians , describing in great detail heaps of dead , headless Albanians in the centers of a string of burnt towns near Kumanovo and Skopje : Massacres . " Please note that the following names of settlements are primarily listed by their Turkish language names to reflect the English name of the cities for the time in question . " Pristina . During the attack of Serbian army on Priştine ( present - day Pristina ) in October 1912 , the Albanians ( led by Turkish officers ) abused the white flag on the city fortress , and this way killed many Serbian soldiers . Then came the brutal retaliation of the Serbian army . Reports said that immediately upon entering the city , the Serbian army began hunting the Albanians and created a bloodshed by decimating the Albanian population of Pristina . The number of Albanians of Pristina killed in the early days of the Serbian government is estimated at 5 , 000 . Ferizoviç . Once Ferizoviç ( present - day Uroševac ( ) ) fell to Serbia , the local Albanian population gave a determined resistance . According to some reports , the fight for Ferizoviç lasted three days . After the fall of the city to the Serbian Army , the Serbian commander ordered the population to go back home and to surrender the weapons . When the survivors returned , between 300 – 400 people were massacred . Following that , Albanian villages around Ferizoviç were destroyed . After the annexation of the city to the Kingdom of Serbia , the city name was changed to Uroševac , after Stephen Uroš V of Serbia . Yakova . Yakova ( present - day Đakovica ( ) ) was mentioned among the cities that suffered at the hands of the Serbian - Montenegrin army . The New York Times reported that people on the gallows hung on both sides of the road , and that the way to Yakova became a " gallows alley . " In the region of Yakova , the Montenegrin police - military formation " Kraljevski žandarmerijski kor " , known as krilaši , committed many abuses and violence against the Albanian population . In Yakova , Serbian priests carried out a violent conversion of Albanian Catholics to Serbian Orthodoxy . Vienna " Neue Freie Presse " ( 20 March 1913 ) reported that Orthodox priests with the help of military force converted 300 Đakovica Catholics in the Orthodox faith , and that Franciscan Pater Angelus , who refused to renounce his faith , was tortured and then killed with bayonet s . The History Institute in Pristina has claimed that Montenegro converted over 1 , 700 Albanian Catholics in the Serbian Orthodox faith in the area of Đakovica in March 1913 . Prizren . After the Serbian army achieved control over the city of Prizren , it imposed repressive measures against the Albanian civilian population . Serbian detachments broke into houses , plundered , committed acts of violence , and killed indiscriminately . Around 400 people were " eradicated " in the first days of the Serbian military administration . During those days bodies were lying everywhere on the streets . According to witnesses , during those days around Prizren lay about 1 , 500 corpses of Albanians . Foreign reporters were not allowed to go to Prizren . After the operations of the Serbian military and paramilitary units , Prizren became one of the most devastated cities of the Kosovo vilayet and people called it " the Kingdom of Death " . Eventually , General Božidar Janković forced surviving Albanian leaders of Prizren to sign a statement of gratitude to the Serbian king Peter I Karađorđević for their liberation . It is estimated that 5 , 000 Albanians were massacred in the area of Prizren . Luma . When General Janković saw that the Albanians of Luma would not allow Serbian forces to continue the advance to the Adriatic Sea , he ordered the troops to continue their brutality . The Serbian army massacred an entire population of men , women and children , not sparing anyone , and burned 27 villages in the area of Luma . Reports spoke of the atrocities by the Serbian army , including the burning of women and children related to the stack of hay , within the sight of fathers . Subsequently , about 400 men from Luma surrendered to Serbian authorities , but were taken to Prizren , where they were murdered . The " Daily Telegraph " wrote that " all the horrors of history have been outdone by the atrocious conduct of the troops of General Janković " . The second Luma massacre was committed the following year ( 1913 ) . After the London Ambassador Conference decided that Luma should be within the Albanian state , the Serbian army initially refused to withdraw . Albanians raised a great rebellion in September 1913 , after which Luma once again suffered harsh retaliation from the Serbian army . In December 1913 , the official report was sent to the Great Powers with details of the slaughter of Albanians in Luma and Debar executed after the proclamation of the amnesty by Serbian authorities . The report listed the names of people killed by Serbian units in addition to the causes of death : , such as by burning , slaughtering , bayoneting , or other methods . The report also provided a detailed list of the burned and looted villages in the area of Luma and Has . Consequence . Under strong international pressure , Balkan neighbors in 1913 were forced to withdraw from the territory of the internationally recognized state of Albania . The new Principality of Albania included about half of the ethnic Albans , while a large number of Albanians remained in neighboring countries . These events greatly contributed to the growth of the Serbian - Albanian conflict : The Treaty of London ( which oversaw the creation of an indepdent Albania ) awarded Kosovo to Serbia and the region was immediately subjected to military governance . According to the Report of the International Commission on the Balkan Wars , Serbia would not extend constitutional privileges to annexed territories . Newly acquired territories were subjected to military dictatorship , and were not included in the Serbian constitutional system . The opposition press demanded the rule of law for the population of the annexed territories and the extension of the constitution of the Kingdom of Serbia to these regions . As a result of the Treaty of London in 1913 which legally awarded the former Ottoman lands to Serbia , Montenegro and Greece ( namely , the large part of the Vilayet of Kosovo being awarded to Serbia ) , an independent Albania was recognised . As such , Greece , Serbia and Montenegro agreed to withdraw from the territory of the new Principality of Albania . Macedonia . Immediately after the annexation of Vardar Macedonia to the Kingdom of Serbia , the Slavic population of Macedonia were faced with a policy of forced Serbianisation . Those who declared themselves to be Bulgarians were tortured , imprisoned or deported to Bulgaria . Many of the high clergy of Bulgarian Orthodox Church were expelled : Cosmas of Debar ( Bishop ) , Axentius of Bitola ( Archbishop ) , Neophytus of Skopje , Meletius of Veles , Boris of Ohrid and others . The Bulgarian population of Macedonia was forced to declare themselves Serbian . Those who refused were beaten and tortured . The worst crimes were committed by the Serbian secret military organization " Black Hand " . Prominent Bulgarian individuals and teachers from Skopje who refused to declare themselves as Serbs were deported to Bulgaria . Serbian authorities carried out ethnic cleansing within the policy that whosoever calls himself a Bulgarian must betake himself to Bulgaria . The International Commission concluded that the Serbian state started in Macedonia a wide sociological experiment of " assimilation through terror . " Denial . Specific denials related to Balkan Wars have included : During the Balkan Wars , the Serbian government has countered most reports of Serbian Army atrocities with official denials . Writing about Serbian war crimes denials in 1913 , Austrian socialist Leo Freundlich stated that " such grave and detailed accusations cannot be repudiated by a simple statement that the events in question did not occur " . He concluded that different international reports from various sources have more weight in any court of human justice than all the formal denials issued by the Serbian Press Office .