Actions of Kosovo Liberation Army, Serbian government police and military Notes

The Actions of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Serbian Government, Police, and Military

The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA/UCK)

1. Shift from pacifism to militancy
   1. After the Dayton Accords (1995) ended the Bosnian War but ignored Kosovo, frustration grew among Kosovar Albanians.
   2. The pacifist strategy of the LDK under Ibrahim Rugova lost support, creating space for the emergence of the militant Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA/UCK).
2. Origins and composition
   1. Formed in the early 1990s, the KLA consisted of nationalists and former political prisoners seeking Kosovo’s independence through armed resistance.
   2. It began as a clandestine group supported by diaspora networks, remaining marginal until the mid-1990s when peaceful resistance appeared ineffective.
3. Growth and tactics
   1. From 1996, the KLA began using guerrilla tactics, targeting Serbian police stations, government officials, and perceived collaborators.
   2. Initially decentralized and poorly armed, it expanded after the 1997 Albanian state collapse, acquiring large weapon stocks.
4. Escalation and repression
   1. The KLA escalated coordinated attacks on Serbian police stations and civilians.
   2. In response, Serbian police and military cracked down harshly, often with disproportionate force.
5. The Prekaz massacre (March 1998)
   1. A turning point came with the Serbian assault on Prekaz, where KLA leader Adem Jashari and over 50 family members were killed, including non-combatants.
   2. This galvanized Albanian resistance and turned Jashari into a martyr figure.

The Albanian Crisis of the 1990s

1. Economic shift and pyramid schemes
   1. In the early 1990s, Albania shifted from a strict communist regime to a chaotic form of capitalism.
   2. After the death of Hoxha in 1985, the fall of the USSR, and rising internal pressures, many Albanians invested their life savings into pyramid schemes. These were fraudulent financial operations that paid profits to earlier investors using the money of new ones.
2. Government complicity
   1. These schemes were encouraged or tolerated by the Albanian government, which failed to regulate or stop them.
   2. When they inevitably collapsed in early 1997, thousands of Albanians lost everything.
3. Collapse and unrest
   1. The economic disaster triggered mass protests, riots, and a complete state breakdown.
   2. The government lost control, and military depots were looted by civilians, gangs, and rebel groups.
   3. A UN report later described the pyramid schemes as “a financial cancer” that devoured Albanian society.

The Rise of the KLA as a Fighting Force (1997–1998)

1. Weapons influx and transformation
   1. During the chaos of the Albanian state collapse, large quantities of weapons were stolen and flowed into Kosovo.
   2. The KLA, previously a small and poorly equipped guerrilla group, suddenly gained access to modern arms such as AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades, and ammunition.
   3. This transformed the KLA from a fringe militant group into a serious fighting force capable of launching organized attacks against Serbian police and military targets by 1998.
2. Western response and shifting perceptions
   1. Initially, Western governments, including the U.S., labeled the KLA a terrorist group.
   2. In early 1998, U.S. envoy Robert Gelbard described them as “without question, a terrorist organization,” though he later softened his stance, admitting they had merely “committed terrorist acts.”
   3. By mid-1998, the U.S. began talks with KLA members, signaling a growing recognition of their political role.
3. Serbian counter-insurgency and escalation
   1. Serbian authorities regarded the KLA as a terrorist insurgency and launched counter-insurgency operations marked by civilian casualties and widespread human rights abuses.
   2. By late 1998, the conflict between Serbian forces and the KLA escalated into open warfare, setting the stage for the Kosovo War of 1999 and eventual NATO intervention.