Drenica massacres

Drenica massacres
Municipalities of Glogovac and Srbica in Drenica region in central Kosovo.
LocationDrenica, Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia
Coordinates42°24′51″N 20°32′42″E / 42.4143°N 20.545°E / 42.4143; 20.545
DateFebruary - March 1998
March – June 1999
TargetKosovo Albanians
Attack type
Mass Killings
Deaths83 civilians dead, including at least 24 women and children in the villages of Ćirez, Likoshan, and Prekaz[1]
PerpetratorsFR Yugoslavia security forces

The Drenica massacres (Serbian: Масакри у Дреници, Masakri u Drenici, Albanian: Masakra në Drenicë) were a series of killings of Kosovo Albanian civilians committed by Serbian special police forces[a] in the Drenica region of central Kosovo.[2]

According to Human Rights Watch, abuses in the Drenica region during the Kosovo War 1998–1999 "were so widespread that a comprehensive description is beyond the scope of this report".[2] Key atrocities took place in the period of February – March 1998 in the Ćirez, Likoshan, and Prekaz and during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, from March to June 1999 in the villages of Izbica, Rezala, Poklek and Çikatovë e Vjetër.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Drenica Region was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Abrahams, Fred (2001). "Background". Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo. Human Rights Watch.