Gornje Obrinje massacre

Gornje Obrinje massacre
The remains of a two-year-old child found in the mass grave at Gornje Obrinje.
Location	Gornje Obrinje, Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia
Date	26 September 1998 in the Afternoon (Central European Time)
Target	Albanians
Attack type	Mass Killing
Death(s)	21 bodies discovered[1]
Perpetrator(s)	Serbian special police forces

The Gornje Obrinje massacre (Albanian: Masakra në Abri të Epërme, Serbian: Masakr u Gornjem Obrinju) is the killing of 21 ethnic Albanians (mostly women, children and elderly of Delijaj family^[1][2]) reportedly committed by Serbian forces in the central Kosovo village of Gornje Obrinje on 26 September 1998, during the Kosovo war.

The Yugoslav Army and Serbian police had been deployed in the area for several months in a major offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which had assumed loose control of an estimated one-third of the province.

On September 25th and next day, 15 Serbian policemen were killed in area of village Gornje Obrinje.^[1] Serbian media reported on September 27th that they regained control over the village previous day. The same day, 14 members of the Delijaj family were murdered in a forest hideout. Many of the victims were women and children.^[1] Seven more people, including 94 year old head of family Fazli Delijaj were killed in Delijaj house. Local people said the killings had been carried out by “black man”—perhaps a policeman with camouflage paint on his face or wearing a ski mask. The Yugoslav government denied responsibility for the atrocities.^[3] Four family members were rescued by at least one Serbian policeman.^[1]

International political pressure on the Yugoslav government to end its crackdown in Kosovo was accelerated by news of these killings, leading to a new resolution issued by the United Nations Security Council on 24 October 1998, calling for the deployment of the Diplomatic Verification Mission and an end to hostilities.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Under Orders (Human Rights Watch)
2. ^ Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Kosovo): After tragedy, justice?
3. ^ "Serbs attack Kosovo massacre reports ", BBC News, October 1, 1998.

See also

• Podujevo massacre
• War crimes in the Kosovo War
• List of massacres in the Kosovo War

External links

• Massacres by Serbian Forces in 3 Kosovo Villages (NY Times)
• Photographs