In February 1998, the Albanian separatists living in Kosovo and Metohija launched armed demonstrations aimed at separating these territories from Yugoslavia. The conflict that arose in this connection, called the Kosovo War, lasted ten years and ended with the official declaration of independence of these lands and the creation of an independent republic.
The historical roots of the problem
This conflict, as has often been the case throughout the history of mankind, began on religious grounds. Before the Second World War, the composition of the population of Kosovo and Metohija was mixed, consisting of Muslim Albanians and Christian Serbs. Despite the long cohabitation, the relationship between them was extremely hostile.
According to historical materials, back in the Middle Ages, the core of the Serbian state was formed on the territory of modern Kosovo and Metohija. Starting from the middle of the XIV century and over the next four centuries, there, near the city of Pecs, there was the residence of the Serbian patriarch, which gave the region the significance of the center of the spiritual life of the people. Based on this, in the conflict that caused the outbreak of the Kosovo war, the Serbs referred to their historical rights, and their Albanian opponents - only ethnic.
Infringement of the rights of Christians of the region
At the end of World War II, these territories were forcibly annexed to Yugoslavia, although most of the inhabitants reacted extremely negatively to this. They were not satisfied even with the formally granted autonomy status, and after the death of the head of state, I. B. Tito, they came out with a demand for independence. However, the authorities not only did not satisfy their demands, but also deprived of autonomy. As a result, Kosovo 1998 soon turned into a boiling cauldron.
The current situation had an extremely negative impact on the economy of Yugoslavia and its political and ideological state. In addition, Kosovo Serbs - Christians, who were in the minority among the Muslims of the region and were subjected to severe oppression, significantly escalated the situation. In order to force the authorities to respond to their petitions, the Serbs were forced to make several protest marches on Belgrade.
Government inaction
Soon, the Yugoslav government formed a working group to solve the problem and sent it to Kosovo. After a detailed acquaintance with the current situation, all the claims of the Serbs were deemed substantiated, but no drastic measures were taken. After a while, the newly elected head of the Yugoslav communists S. Milosevic arrived there, however, his visit only contributed to the aggravation of the conflict, as it caused bloody clashes between Serbian demonstrators and the police, which were fully staffed from Albanians.
The creation of the Kosovo army
The next stage of the conflict was the creation by the supporters of the separation of Kosovo and Metohija of the Democratic League party, which led anti-government protests and the formation of their own government, urging the population to abandon the subordination of central authority. The response to this was the mass arrests of activists. However, large-scale punitive measures led only to an aggravation of the situation. With the help of Albania, the Kosovo separatists created armed groups called the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). From this began the notorious Kosovo war, which lasted until 2008.
About when exactly the Albanian separatists created their armed forces, there is somewhat conflicting information. Some researchers are inclined to consider the moment when they were born to occur in 1994, the union of several previously operating armed groups, but the Hague Tribunal considered the beginning of the army in 1990, when the first armed attacks on police stations were recorded. However, a number of authoritative sources attribute this event to 1992 and connect it with the decision by the separatists to create underground combat groups.
There is numerous evidence of participants in the events of those years that, until 1998, the training of militants was carried out in compliance with the requirements of conspiracy in numerous sports clubs in Kosovo. When the Yugoslav war became an obvious reality, classes were continued on the territory of Albania and were openly conducted by instructors of the American and British special services.
The beginning of bloodshed
Active hostilities began on February 28, 1998, after the KLA’s official announcement of the outbreak of the Kosovo independence war. Following this, the separatists launched a series of attacks on police stations. In response, Yugoslav troops attacked several settlements in Kosovo and Metohija. Eighty people became victims of their actions, most of them women and children. This act of violence against civilians has caused a wide resonance throughout the world.
Escalation of war
In the following months, the war in Kosovo flared up with renewed vigor, and by the fall of that year, more than a thousand civilians had become its victims. With the war-torn territory, a massive outflow of the population of all faiths and nationalities began. In relation to those who for one reason or another could not or did not want to leave their homeland, the Yugoslav military committed numerous crimes, which were repeatedly covered in the media. The world community was trying to influence the government of Belgrade, and the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on this issue.
The document provided, as a last resort, the start of the bombing of Yugoslavia in the event of continued violence. This measure of intimidation had some effect, and in October 1998 a truce was signed, but despite this, the Kosovans continued to die at the hands of Yugoslav soldiers, and from the beginning of next year hostilities resumed in full.
Attempts to resolve the conflict peacefully
The Kosovo war attracted even more international attention after the end of January 1999 in the city of Racak by the Yugoslav military who shot and killed five civilians accused of having links with the separatists. This crime caused a wave of indignation throughout the world. Next month, representatives of the warring parties held talks in France, but despite all the efforts of the UN representatives present, they did not bring any positive results.
During the talks, representatives of Western countries supported the Kosovo separatists who supported Kosovo’s independence, while Russian diplomats took the side of Yugoslavia, lobbying for its demands aimed at the integrity of the state. Belgrade considered the ultimatum put forward by NATO countries unacceptable, and as a result of this, bombing of Serbia began in March. They continued for three months, until in June the head of Yugoslavia S. Milosevic ordered the withdrawal of troops from Kosovo. However, the Kosovo war was still far from over.
Peacekeepers in Kosovo
Subsequently, when the events in Kosovo were the subject of consideration by an international tribunal in The Hague, NATO officials explained the start of the bombing as a desire to put an end to the ethnic cleansing conducted by the Yugoslav intelligence agencies against the Albanian population of the region.
However, it follows from the case materials that such crimes against humanity, although they did occur, were committed after the start of the air strikes, and they were, although unlawful, but provoked by them. Statistics from those years show that the Kosovo war of 1998-1999 and the bombing of Yugoslav territory by NATO forces forced more than one hundred thousand Serbs and Montenegrins to leave their homes and seek salvation outside the combat zone.
Mass exodus of civilians
In June of the same year, according to the UN declaration, a contingent of peacekeeping forces consisting of units of NATO and Russia troops was introduced on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. Soon, an agreement was reached with representatives of Albanian militants on a ceasefire, but, despite everything, local clashes continued, and dozens of civilians were killed in them. The total number of victims continued to grow steadily.
This caused a massive outflow from Kosovo of two hundred and fifty thousand Christians living there - Serbs and Montenegrins, and their forced resettlement to Serbia and Montenegro. Some of them returned back after the Republic of Kosovo was proclaimed in 2008, but their number was very small. So, according to the UN, in 2009 it amounted to only seven hundred people, a year later it increased to eight hundred, but then it began to decline every year.
Declaration of Independence of Kosovo and Metohija
In November 2001, Albanian separatists held elections on their territory, which resulted in the formation of a government led by I. Rugov. Their next step was the declaration of independence of the region and the creation of an independent state on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. It is understandable that the Yugoslav government did not consider their actions legitimate, and the war in Kosovo continued, although it took the form of a protracted, barely smoldering conflict, which nevertheless claimed hundreds of lives.
In 2003, an attempt was again made in Vienna, having sat down at the negotiating table, to find a way to resolve the conflict, but it was as inconclusive as it was four years ago. The end of the war is considered to be the statement of the Kosovo authorities of February 18, 2008, in which they unilaterally declared the independence of Kosovo and Metohija.
Unresolved issue
By this time, Montenegro had separated from Yugoslavia, and once a single state ceased to exist in the form that it had at the beginning of the conflict. The Kosovo war, the reasons for which were ethnic and religious, ended, but the mutual hatred of representatives of the previously warring parties remained. To this day, this creates an atmosphere of tension and instability in the region.
The fact that the Yugoslav war went beyond the scope of the local conflict and involved wide circles of the world community in solving the problems connected with it became an additional reason for the West and Russia to resort to a demonstration of force as part of an escalation of the hidden cold war. Fortunately, it had no consequences. The Republic of Kosovo, proclaimed after the end of hostilities, is still the reason for discussions between diplomats of different countries.