Gnjilane Group
Encyclopedia
Gnjilane
Group is the name of a subgroup part of the Kosovo Albanian UÇK
(Kosovo Liberation Army). During the Kosovo War
, the Gnjilane Group were accused of being the perpetrators of more than 153 physical abuses, of civilian Serbs
between June–October 1999 in the town of Gnjilane
, Kosovo
after the international forces of NATO troops and KFOR
arrived. The killings are noted for their notoriety and inhumanity.
The group consisted of ethnic Albanians from Preševo
, Bujanovac
and Medveđa, home to Albanians
of southern Serbia
, bordering Kosovo
, and Albanians of western Republic of Macedonia
. They were a special group of KLA tasked with the ethnic cleansing of the remaining Serbs of Gnjilane.
, taken to the school and stripped naked, tied up, humiliated, severely tortured and stabbed with knives (genitals were cut off, castration), strangled with plastic bags and wires, bashed with metal bats, finger-nails and teeth pulled out, raped and murdered. Some of the victims were killed by gruesome experiments of how many bodies a bullet could pass and kill, the dismembering of an old woman tied to two cars driving opposite ways. All bodies were dismembered and hid/threwn in different locations (in lakes or thrash cans), however parts were cut off prior to the death as well (while alive). All found bodies show the victims dying from extreme torture.
The victims included children (and babies), pregnants and old and weak people.
after months of planning by the War Crime Prosecution and Serbian Security and Intelligency. A total of 17 individuals known by name are undergoing trial.
Apart from murder, the indicted persons were charged with other criminal acts, such as rape, imprisonment, mutilation, torture and robbery, committed with the aim of cleansing Serbian and non-ethnic Albanian population from the Gnjilane municipality, ultimately Kosovo.
The trial started on 23 September 2009.
The leaders, Fazlia Aydari, Rexhep Aliji and Shaqip Shaqiri are still at large, living in Kosovo.
Gnjilane
Gnjilane or Gjilan is a city and municipality in eastern Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the District of Gjilan. It is famous for having been recorded the lowest temperature in Kosovo with on 25 January 1963.-Name and history:...
Group is the name of a subgroup part of the Kosovo Albanian UÇK
UCK
UCK may refer to:*Ubuntu Customization Kit, a tool to create a customized Live CD of Ubuntu*Kosovo Liberation Army or Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës...
(Kosovo Liberation Army). During the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, the Gnjilane Group were accused of being the perpetrators of more than 153 physical abuses, of civilian Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
between June–October 1999 in the town of Gnjilane
Gnjilane
Gnjilane or Gjilan is a city and municipality in eastern Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the District of Gjilan. It is famous for having been recorded the lowest temperature in Kosovo with on 25 January 1963.-Name and history:...
, Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
after the international forces of NATO troops and KFOR
KFOR
The Kosovo Force is a NATO-led international peacekeeping force responsible for establishing a secure environment in Kosovo.KFOR entered Kosovo on 12 June 1999 under a United Nations mandate, two days after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1244...
arrived. The killings are noted for their notoriety and inhumanity.
The group consisted of ethnic Albanians from Preševo
Preševo
Preševo , is a town and municipality in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia, bordering Republic of Macedonia. It is the largest town of the region known as the Preševo valley, and the cultural center of Albanians in Central Serbia....
, Bujanovac
Bujanovac
Bujanovac is a town and municipality in Pčinja District of southern Serbia, located at the South Morava basin.It is known for its source of mineral water, so it is also known as Bujanovačka Banja ....
and Medveđa, home to Albanians
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
of southern Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, bordering Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, and Albanians of western Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
. They were a special group of KLA tasked with the ethnic cleansing of the remaining Serbs of Gnjilane.
Crime
The group kidnapped, raped and murdered Serbs at three known locations in Gnjilane in 1999. Many of the victims were killed in a boarding school in Gnjilane. They were first kidnappedKidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, taken to the school and stripped naked, tied up, humiliated, severely tortured and stabbed with knives (genitals were cut off, castration), strangled with plastic bags and wires, bashed with metal bats, finger-nails and teeth pulled out, raped and murdered. Some of the victims were killed by gruesome experiments of how many bodies a bullet could pass and kill, the dismembering of an old woman tied to two cars driving opposite ways. All bodies were dismembered and hid/threwn in different locations (in lakes or thrash cans), however parts were cut off prior to the death as well (while alive). All found bodies show the victims dying from extreme torture.
The victims included children (and babies), pregnants and old and weak people.
Arrest
On 26 December 2008, 10 KLA members were arrested by Serbian Gendarmery as crime suspects during a raid on 17 facilities in PreševoPreševo
Preševo , is a town and municipality in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia, bordering Republic of Macedonia. It is the largest town of the region known as the Preševo valley, and the cultural center of Albanians in Central Serbia....
after months of planning by the War Crime Prosecution and Serbian Security and Intelligency. A total of 17 individuals known by name are undergoing trial.
Apart from murder, the indicted persons were charged with other criminal acts, such as rape, imprisonment, mutilation, torture and robbery, committed with the aim of cleansing Serbian and non-ethnic Albanian population from the Gnjilane municipality, ultimately Kosovo.
The trial started on 23 September 2009.
The leaders, Fazlia Aydari, Rexhep Aliji and Shaqip Shaqiri are still at large, living in Kosovo.