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Terrorism in Serbia

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This article includes information on actions described as terrorist acts in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY, 1992–2003), Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006)[1] and Serbia (2006 onwards).[2][3]

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

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1995-1998 Kosovo insurgency

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Main article: Insurgency in Kosovo (1995–1998)
Emblem of the Kosovo Liberation Army

In 1992–1993, ethnic Albanians created the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).[4] In 1995, the Dayton Agreement was signed in Dayton, Ohio. Finalized on 21 November 1995 and signed on 10 December 1995, the agreement ended the three-year-long Bosnian War.[5][6] After the Bosnian War, the KLA began staging ambushes of Serb patrols as well as killing policemen, as they sought to capitalize on popular resentment among Kosovan Albanians against the Serbian regime.[7]

From 1996 onwards, the KLA took responsibility for the attacks it committed.[8] The KLA grew to a few hundred Albanians who attacked police stations and wounded many police officers from 1996 to 1997.[9] Following the 1997 Albanian civil unrest, the KLA was enabled to acquire large amounts of weapons looted from Albanian armories.[10] The KLA also received large funds from Albanian diaspora organizations.

Starting in 1998, attacks from the KLA against Serbian police and security forces significantly increased, as well as the KLA attempting to "cleanse" Kosovo of its ethnic Serbian population.[11][verification needed][need quotation to verify] The KLA was now involved in frontal battle, with increasing numbers of Yugoslav security forces. Escalating tensions led to the Kosovo War in February 1998.[12][13][14]

Weapons confiscated from the KLA in July 1999

The increased attacks on Serbian security forces led the Serbian government to declare the KLA as a terrorist organization.[15] On the other hand, most ethnic Albanians considered the KLA as "freedom fighters".[16] The United States had also reportedly added the KLA to its list of international terrorist organizations. However, strained relations between the U.S. and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia led the Clinton administration to remove the organization from the terrorist list in late 1998.[15] In February 1998, Robert Gelbard, U.S. President Bill Clinton's special envoy to the Balkans, described the KLA as "without any questions, a terrorist group" and added that "we condemn very strongly terrorist activities in Kosovo."[17] In March 1998, just one month later Gerbald had to modify his statements to say that KLA had not been classified legally by the U.S. government as a terrorist group.[18]

Kosovo War

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Main article: War crimes in the Kosovo War

On 28 February 1998, the KLA ambushed a unit of the Serbian police near Likoshan, killing four and seriously wounding two other policemen. Serbian police responded by launching an operation in Likoshan and Qirez, leading to the killing of 4 KLA members and 26 Kosovo Albanian civilians in both villages.[19][20] An operation led by the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ) from 5 to 7 March 1998[21] resulted in KLA leader Adem Jashari and his brother Hamëz were killed, along with nearly 60 other family members. These attacks resulted in the beginning of the Kosovo War.

Victims of massacres carried out by the KLA

There have been reports of war crimes committed by the KLA during the conflict. These have been directed against Serbs, other ethnic minorities (primarily the Roma) and against ethnic Albanians accused of collaborating with Serb authorities.[22] The KLA ran prison camps including the Lapušnik prison camp[23] the Jablanica prison camp.[24][25]

On 10 June 1999, the Kumanovo Agreement was signed between British Army general Mike Jackson and Yugoslav Army general Nebojša Pavković. The agreement not only ended the Kosovo War,[26] but also established a 5-kilometre-wide "Ground Safety Zone" (GSZ) around Kosovo (governed by the UN)[27][28] and into the FRY if necessary.[29][30][31]

Preševo Valley insurgency

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Main article: Insurgency in the Preševo Valley

In June 1999, a new Albanian militant insurgent group was formed by Shefket Musliu,[32] called the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (UÇPMB), began training in the GSZ, which was witnessed by KFOR.[33][34] The group began attacking Serbian civilians and police, with the goal of joining Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac into Kosovo, which escalated into an insurgency.[35] The European Union (EU) condemned what it described as the "extremism" and use of "illegal terrorist actions" by the group.[36] The UÇPMB only attacked Serbs from a distance with mortars, so the Serbs couldn't respond, as well as including minors.[37]

On 16 February 2001, a Niš-Ekspres bus carrying 57 passengers[38] was hit by a remote-controlled bomb that exploded in its vicinity. The Serbs were travelling to visit family graves in Gračanica on the Orthodox Christian Day of the Dead.[39] The bombing killed twelve Serb civilians and injured dozens more. Albanian extremists, mainly the UÇPMB, were suspected of being responsible for the attack.

As part of an agreement by NATO, the Yugoslav Army were allowed to enter the GSZ via Operation Return.[40][29] On 21 May 2001, UÇPMB commanders Shefket Musliu, Muhamet Xhemajli, Ridvan Qazimi and Mustafa Shaqiri signed the Končulj Agreement which resulted in the full demilitarization, demobilization, and disarmament of the UÇPMB.[41][42]

Preševo Valley Crisis

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In July 2001, the former ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army fighters created the Albanian National Army (ANA, AKSh),[43] which announced itself on 3 August 2001.[44] After the NLA disbanded, the ANA later went and operated in the Preševo Valley.[45] Many former UÇPMB members also joined the Liberation Army of Eastern Kosovo (LAEK),[46] but because of its lack of members, LAEK isn't active.[47]

In 2002, reports of low-intensity skirmishes and illegal logging incidents arose after casualties were reported by Serbian officials. In the same year, different armed groups, along with former members of the UÇPMB and members of the ANA, started frequently attacking Serbian police and Gendarmery.[48][49][50]

On 25 January 2014, a Norwegian citizen attacked Gendarmery in Preševo. He was killed in a crossfire with the police. His motive was unknown.

References

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  1. ^ "Constitutional Charter of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro" (PDF). 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 26 February 2009. The name of the state union shall be Serbia and Montenegro.
  2. ^ "Serbia Declares Independence". Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. 5 June 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  3. ^ Miloš Živković; Slobodan Kremenjak; Miloš Stojković (May 21, 2020). Media Law in Serbia. Wolters Kluwer. ISBN 9789403523033. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  4. ^ Eriksson, Mikael; Kostić, Roland (15 February 2013). Mediation and Liberal Peacebuilding: Peace from the Ashes of War?. Routledge. pp. 43–. ISBN 978-1-136-18916-6.
  5. ^ "Dayton Peace Accords on Bosnia". US Department of State. 30 March 1996. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2006.
  6. ^ Says, P. Morra (2015-12-14). "A flawed recipe for how to end a war and build a state: 20 years since the Dayton Agreement". EUROPP. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  7. ^ Marsden 2000.
  8. ^ Professor Peter Radan; Dr Aleksandar Pavkovic (28 April 2013). The Ashgate Research Companion to Secession. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 178–. ISBN 978-1-4094-7652-8.
  9. ^ Kushner 2002, p. 206.
  10. ^ A. Pavkovic (8 January 2016). The Fragmentation of Yugoslavia: Nationalism and War in the Balkans. Springer. pp. 190–. ISBN 978-0-230-28584-2.
  11. ^ Allan, Stuart; Zelizer, Barbie (2004). Reporting war: journalism in wartime. Routledge. p. 178. ISBN 0-415-33998-7.
  12. ^ Independent International Commission on Kosovo (2000). The Kosovo Report (PDF). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0199243099. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  13. ^ Quackenbush, Stephen L. (2015). International Conflict: Logic and Evidence. Los Angeles: Sage. p. 202. ISBN 9781452240985. Archived from the original on 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
  14. ^ "Roots of the Insurgency in Kosovo" (PDF). June 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  15. ^ a b Ciment, James (2015). World Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Political Violence from Ancient Times to the Post-9/11 Era: An Encyclopedia of Political Violence from Ancient Times to the Post-9/11 Era. Routledge. p. 435. ISBN 9781317451525.
  16. ^ Arsovska, Jana (2015). Decoding Albanian Organized Crime: Culture, Politics, and Globalization. University of California Press. p. 44. ISBN 9780520282803.
  17. ^ Shenon, Philip (March 13, 1998). "U.S. Says It Might Consider Attacking Serbs". The New York Times.
  18. ^ Henriksen, Dag (2007). NATO's gamble: combining diplomacy and airpower in the Kosovo crisis, 1998–1999. Naval Institute Press. pp. 126–129. ISBN 978-1-59114-355-0. [February statements] 'We condemn very strongly terrorist actions in Kosovo. The UÇK (KLA) is, without any questions, a terrorist group.' [March statements] while it has committed 'terrorist acts,' if had 'not been classified legally by the U.S. Government as a terrorist organization'
  19. ^ "Violations of the Rules of War by Government Forces - Violations in the Drenica Region". Human Rights Watch. 1998-10-04. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  20. ^ Kandić, Nataša (2011-09-30). "The Kosovo Memory Book 1998-2000". Humanitarian Law Center. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  21. ^ Krieger, Heike (2001). The Kosovo Conflict and International Law: An Analytical Documentation 1974–1999. Cambridge University Press. p. 96. ISBN 0-521-80071-4.
  22. ^ "UNDER ORDERS: War Crimes in Kosovo - 1. Executive Summary". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  23. ^ Mishra, Pramod (10 January 2006). Human Rights Reporting. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 9788182053830 – via Google Books.
  24. ^ "Summary Judgment of ICTY in case Prosecutor vs. Ramush Haradinaj et al page 7". U.N. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  25. ^ "UN-Tribunal spricht Kosovo-Führer Haradinaj frei". Die Welt. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  26. ^ NATO (1999-06-09). "Military Technical Agreement between the International Security Force ("KFOR") and the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia". Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  27. ^ "Security Council, welcoming Yugoslavia's acceptance of peace principles, authorises civil, security presence in Kosovo". United Nations. 10 June 1999. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  28. ^ "RESOLUTION 1244 (1999)". undocs.org. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  29. ^ a b "Ground Safety Zone (GSZ): Time out for rebel strong hold - Serbia | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2001-06-01. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  30. ^ "Supervision of Kosovo's borders and military-technical agreement". Zyra e Kryeministrit. 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  31. ^ "Military-technical agreement between the international security force (KFOR) and the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia". peaceagreements.org. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  32. ^ "Rebel Albanian chief surrenders". BBC News. 26 May 2001.
  33. ^ Yonah Alexander; Richard Prosen (15 August 2015). NATO: From Regional to Global Security Provider. Lexington Books. pp. 93–. ISBN 978-1-4985-0369-3.
  34. ^ Corson, Mark W.; Turregano, Clemson G. (2002). "Spaces of unintended consequences: The Ground Safety Zone in Kosovo". Springer. 57 (4): 273–282. Bibcode:2002GeoJo..57..273C. doi:10.1023/B:GEJO.0000007205.16802.d7.
  35. ^ Rafael Reuveny; William R. Thompson (5 November 2010). Coping with Terrorism: Origins, Escalation, Counterstrategies, and Responses. SUNY Press. pp. 185–. ISBN 978-1-4384-3313-4.
  36. ^ European Centre for Minority Issues Staf (1 January 2003). European Yearbook of Minority Issues: 2001/2. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 652–. ISBN 90-411-1956-6.
  37. ^ "Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Federal Republic of Yugoslavia". Child Soldiers International. 2001. The UCPMB is an Albanian armed group operating in southern Serbia whose operations are reportedly controlled by the Political Council for Presovo. They are calling for the incorporation of the cities of Preshava, Medvegia and Bujanovci into Kosovo. Estimates of numbers vary between 200 and 15,000.
    The Guardian newspaper reported in January 2001 that some sixty suspected members of the UCPMB guerrilla had been arrested by peacekeepers. UCPMB recruits include children in their mid teens to men in their forties ... Further confirmation of the participation of child soldiers came when KFOR detained 16 juveniles (aged 15-17) in the first two months of 2001 for alleged involvement in the conflict (although the degree of "involvement" is not clear). The international media claim that there is forced recruitment of juveniles into this group but this is not verified and numbers are small ... A 15-year-old Albanian male was reported shot dead on 23 March 2001 in the Ground Safety Zone near Gnjilane. Although no confirmations have been received, the circumstances suggest he may have been a child soldier.
    UNICEF, 9/3/01 op. cit.Information (provided by [a] confidential source that requests confidentiality, 3/01)
  38. ^ Russell 2006.
  39. ^ "2001: Serbs killed in Kosovo pilgrimage". 16 February 2001 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  40. ^ "Serbia offers talks with rebels". BBC. 6 February 2001.
  41. ^ Kožul, Dejan (16 August 2021). "THE FORGOTTEN VALLEY". Kosovo 2.0.
  42. ^ "PA-X: Peace Agreements Database". www.peaceagreements.org. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  43. ^ "Новая албанская банда ответит за 10 убитых македонцев" [The new Albanian gang will be responsible for the 10 killed Macedonians]. RBK Group. Archived from the original on 2013-04-17. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
  44. ^ "Lenta.ru: БАЛКАНЫ: Разоружившиеся албанские боевики сменили вывеску и снова взялись за оружие". 2005-04-18. Archived from the original on 2005-04-18. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  45. ^ ""Albanische Nationalarmee" bekennt sich zu Anschlag im südserbischen Presevo-Tal – DW – 13.08.2003". dw.com (in German). Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  46. ^ "ALBANSKI TERORIZAM I ORGANIZOVANI KRIMINAL NA KOSOVU I METOHIJI" (PDF). Government of Republic of Serbia.
  47. ^ "Делује 40 банди". Večernje Novosti. 9 November 2003.
  48. ^ "Preševo: Povređen pripadnik Žandarmerije, ubijen vehabija". Večernje Novosti. 25 January 2014.
  49. ^ ""Komandant Naci" napada Žandarmeriju". RTS. 23 July 2009.
  50. ^ "Napad na Žandarmeriju u okolini Bujanovca". RTS. 9 July 2009.

Sources

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