1993–20 September 1999 (est. 1992–93[1][2] but relatively passive until 1996)
Active regions
Yugoslavia
Serbia
AP Kosovo and Metohija
Albania
Kukës County
Kukës
Tropojë
Ideology
Albanian nationalism[3][4][5] Greater Albania[a] Unification of Albania and Kosovo
Size
12,000–20,000,[10] 20,000,[11] 24,000 (April–May 1999),[12] or 25,000–45,000[13]
Allies
Albania
NATO
Belgium
Canada
Denmark
France
Germany
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
Opponents
Yugoslavia
Serbia
Battles and wars
Kosovar insurgency
Kosovo War
Battle of Likošane
Attack on Prekaz
Battle of Llapushnik
Battle of Glođane
Albanian–Yugoslav border ambush
Battle of Belaćevac Mine
Battle of Lođa
Battle of Đocaj and Jasić
Operation Eagle
Albanian–Yugoslav border clashes
Attack on Orahovac
Battle of Junik
Operation Fenix
Battle of Podujevo
Ambush near Kosovska Mitrovica
Albanian–Yugoslav border incident
Albanian–Yugoslav border ambush
Albania–Yugoslav border incident (April 1999)
Battle of Košare
Battle of Paštrik
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
Battle of Marec
Meja ambush
Ambush near Suva Reka
Flag
Succeeded by Kosovo Protection Corps Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac National Liberation Army
v
t
e
Kosovo War
Prelude
Likošane and Ćirez
Prekaz
Wartime events
UNSCR 1160
Albanian–Yugoslav border ambush
Lapušnik prison camp
Belaćevac Mine
Ljubenić mass graves
Lođa
1st Albanian–Yugoslav border
Klečka killings
Orahovac
Junik
Lake Radonjić massacre
Glodjane
UNSCR 1199
Gornje Obrinje massacre
UNSCR 1203
UNSCR 1207
2nd Albanian–Yugoslav border
3rd Albanian–Yugoslav border
Panda Bar massacre
Podujevo
Ambush near Suva Reka
Račak massacre
Allied Force
F-117A shoot-down
Novi Sad blitz
Bela Crkva massacre
Krusha massacres
Suva Reka massacre
Izbica massacre
Drenica massacres
4th Albanian-Yugoslav border
Battle of Košare
Battle of Paštrik
Grdelica
Gjakova
Meja ambush
RTS headquarters
Meja
Yugoslav Ministry of Defence
Lužane bus bombing
Varvarin bridge bombing
Vushtrri massacre
Niš cluster bombing
Chinese embassy
Koriša bombing
Ćuška massacre
Aftermath
Pristina airport
Prizren
Staro Gracko massacre
Gnjilane killings
2000 unrest
Aspects
War crimes
Mass graves: Batajnica mass graves, Rudnica mass grave, Ugljare mass grave, Mališevo mass grave
Destruction of heritage (Albanian · Serbian)
The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; Albanian: Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës[uʃˈtɾijat͡ʃliɾimˈtaɾɛɛˈkɔsɔvəs], UÇK) was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the 1990s. Albanian nationalism was a central tenet of the KLA and many in its ranks supported the creation of a Greater Albania, which would encompass all Albanians in the Balkans, stressing Albanian culture, ethnicity and nation.
Military precursors to the KLA began in the late 1980s with armed resistance to Yugoslav police trying to take Albanian activists in custody.[14] By the early 1990s there were attacks on police forces and secret-service officials who abused Albanian civilians.[14] By mid-1998 the KLA was involved in frontal battle though it was outnumbered and outgunned.[14] Conflict escalated from 1997 onward due to the Yugoslav army retaliating with a crackdown in the region which resulted in population displacements.[15][16] The bloodshed, ethnic cleansing of thousands of Albanians driving them into neighbouring countries and the potential of it to destabilize the region provoked intervention by international organizations, such as the United Nations, NATO and INGOs.[17][18] NATO supported the KLA and intervened on its behalf in March 1999.[19]
In September 1999, with the fighting over and an international force in place within Kosovo, the KLA was officially disbanded and thousands of its members entered the Kosovo Protection Corps, a civilian emergency protection body that replaced the KLA and Kosovo Police Force, as foreseen in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244. The ending of the Kosovo war resulted in the emergence of offshoot guerilla groups and political organisations from the KLA continuing violent struggles in southern Serbia (1999–2001) and northwestern Macedonia (2001), which resulted in peace talks and greater Albanian rights.[20] Former KLA leaders also entered politics, some of them reaching high-ranking offices.
The KLA received large funds from Albanian diaspora organizations. There have been allegations that it used narcoterrorism to finance its operations.[21][22] Abuses and war crimes were committed by the KLA during and after the conflict, such as massacres of civilians, prison camps and destruction of cultural heritage sites.[23] In April 2014, the Assembly of Kosovo considered and approved the establishment of a special court to try cases involving crimes and other serious abuses allegedly committed in 1999–2000 by members of the KLA.[24] In June 2020 the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office filed indictments for crimes against humanity and war crimes against a number of former KLA members, including the former president of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi.[25]
^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.
^State-building in Kosovo. A plural policing perspective. Maklu. 5 February 2015. p. 53. ISBN 9789046607497.
^Liberating Kosovo: Coercive Diplomacy and U. S. Intervention. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. 2012. p. 69. ISBN 9780262305129.
^Dictionary of Genocide. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2008. p. 249. ISBN 9780313346415.
^"Albanian Insurgents Keep NATO Forces Busy". Time. 6 March 2001.
^Hockenos, Paul (2003). Homeland Calling: Exile Patriotism & the Balkan Wars. Cornell University Press. p. 255. ISBN 0-8014-4158-7.
^Bartrop 2016, p. 120.
^Hosmer, Stephen T. (2 July 2001). The Conflict Over Kosovo: Why Milosevic Decided to Settle When He Did. Rand Corporation. pp. 88–. ISBN 978-0-8330-3238-6.
^Bodansky, Yossef (4 May 2011). bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America. Crown Publishing Group. pp. 398–403. ISBN 978-0-307-79772-8.
^ abcPerritt 2008, p. 62.
^Yoshihara 2006, pp. 67–68.
^Goldman, Minton F. (1997). Revolution and change in Central and Eastern Europe: Political, economic, and social challenges. Armonk: ME Sharpe. pp. 308, 373. ISBN 9780765639011.
^Jordan, Robert S. (2001). International organizations: A comparative approach to the management of cooperation. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 129. ISBN 9780275965495.
^Yoshihara 2006, p. 71.
^"NATO Gives Air Support to KLA Forces". The Washington Post. 2 June 1999.
^Koktsidis & Dam 2008, p. 161.
^Narco-terrorism: international drug trafficking and terrorism, a dangerous mix : hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, One Hundred Eighth Congress, first session. United States Senate U.S. G.P.O. 20 May 2003. p. 111.
^Perritt 2008, pp. 88–93.
^UNDER ORDERS: War Crimes in Kosovo. executive summary Archived 13 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine. hrw.org (2001)
^"Kosovo court to be established in The Hague". Government of the Netherlands. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
^Cite error: The named reference BBC_06-24-2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
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