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Timeline of events 1989-1999 relating to the crisis in
Kosovo
1989
- Pressured by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, the Kosovo
Assembly abolishes the province's autonomous status. Legislation
is passed that denies ownership and work to Kosovo-Albanians. Tens
of thousands of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo lose their jobs. Serbia
suppresses Albanian cultural institutions in Kosovo.
1990
- Serbia dissolves the Kosovo assembly. In response ethnic Albanian
legislators in the province declare a republic.
1991
- A secret referendum is held in which the Republic of Kosovo
is created. Only Albania's Parliament recognizes this self-declared
Republic.
1991-2
- The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (S.F.R.Y.) breaks
up. Wars break out in the former republics of Slovenia, Croatia,
and Bosnia-Herzegovina; in the latter two, Serbs ethnically cleanse
and seize control of significant parts of the country. In response,
the international community imposes sanctions on Yugoslavia. The
United States recognizes the independence of the former Yugoslav
republics and refuses to accept rump Yugoslavia as the successor
state.
- In defiance of the Serbian authorities, ethnic Albanians elect
writer Ibrahim Rugova as president of the self-proclaimed Republic
of Kosovo and set up a provincial assembly. Serbia declares the
election to be illegal. The Kosovo Albanians begin non-violent resistance
to the oppressive rule from Belgrade.
1995
- Bosnia Peace Talks conclude at Wright Patterson AFB; the problems
in Kosovo are identified as issues needing to be resolved before
the "Outer Wall of Sanctions" could be lifted from the FRY.
1996
- In response to continued suppression by Belgrade and attacks
from the Serbian police, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) begins
reprisals, claiming responsibility for a number of bombings and
attacks against Serbian police and state officials.
1997
- In October, Serb police crush Kosovo-Albanian student demonstrations.
The KLA responds by additional attacks against the Serb police.
1998
- February-March: Serbian police conduct a series of raids in
the Drenica region of Kosovo. Houses are burned, villages emptied,
and dozens of ethnic Albanians are murdered.
- March 31: The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 1160 condemning
the excessive use of force by Serbian police force against civilians
in Kosovo; also establishes embargo of arms and material against
the FRY.
- April: 95% of Serbs vote in a referendum against international
mediation in Kosovo. With the exception of Russia, the Contact Group
for the Former Yugoslavia (U.S., Great Britain, France, Germany,
Italy, and Russia) agrees to re-impose some of the sanctions on
Yugoslavia that had been lifted.
- May: Ambassador Richard Holbrooke goes to Belgrade and arranges
the first meeting between F.R.Y. President Slobodan Milosevic and
Dr. Rugova.
- May: Yugoslav President Milosevic invites Rugova for peace talks.
Milosevic and Rugova meet once. Milosevic appoints a negotiating
team that goes to Pristina to begin talks. Following a deliberate
Serb offensive in Decani where several dozen Kosovo-Albanians are
killed, the dialogue process breaks down.
- May: Special Representative Robert Gelbard meets with KLA representatives
in Geneva.
- May: The U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia, Christopher Hill, is
designated as the U.S. Special Envoy to Kosovo and begins shuttle
diplomacy between Belgrade and Pristina in an attempt to negotiate
a peaceful, political settlement to the crisis. The European Union
later names the Austrian Ambassador to Yugoslavia, Wolfgang Petritsch,
as its envoy.
- June 16: Milosevic travels to Moscow, where he meets with President
Yeltsin of the Russian Federation. Following the meeting, they issue
a joint statement on Kosovo, which among other things would permit
the presence of diplomatic observers in the region.
- June 23: U.S. special envoy Holbrooke again meets with Milosevic
in Belgrade to urge a peaceful end to the conflict.
- June 24: Holbrooke meets with KLA commanders in the Kosovo village
of Junik.
- July 6: The U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Belgrade, Richard Miles,
and his Russian counterpart launch the Kosovo Diplomatic Observer
Mission (KDOM), which begins to patrol Kosovo in armored vehicles
and to report on freedom of movement and security conditions throughout
the region.
- August 16: The UN calls for a cease-fire after the village of
Junik, is overrun by a Serb offensive.
- September 2: During a Clinton-Yeltsin summit meeting, Secretary
of State Albright and Russian FM Ivanov issue a joint statement
on Kosovo calling on Belgrade to end the offensive and for the Kosovo-Albanians
to engage with Belgrade in negotiations.
- September 5-7: John Shattuck, Assistant Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and former Senator Bob Dole
visit Kosovo to see firsthand the conditions there. They then return
to Belgrade to deliver a stern warning to Milosevic about his treatment
of prisoners and refugees in Kosovo.
- September 23: The UN Security Council approves (with China abstaining)
Resolution 1199, which demands a cessation of hostilities and warns
that, "should the measures demanded in this resolution . . . not
be taken . . . additional measures to maintain or restore peace
and stability in the region" will be considered.
- September 24: NATO takes the first formal steps toward military
intervention in Kosovo, approving two contingency operation plans
-- one for air strikes and the second for monitoring and maintaining
a cease-fire agreement if one is reached.
- September 29: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees announces
on September 29 that as many as 200,000 civilians have been displaced
within Kosovo since fighting began in February. Sixty thousand of
them are now living in the open without shelter. The situation threatens
to worsen with the onset of winter.
- October 1: The White House urges Yugoslav President Milosevic
to heed Western demands for a cease-fire and a withdrawal of Serbian
troops from Kosovo. Special UN Security Council consultations on
the Kosovo crisis begin at the initiation of the British Government.
- October 13: Ambassador Holbrooke, after nearly 10 days of negotiations
in Belgrade with Milosevic, flies to Brussels to inform the North
Atlantic Council that progress has been made. He credits pressure
from the Alliance and asks that this pressure be maintained. NATO
approves an activation order ("ACTORD"), placing authority for air
strikes in the hands of the Secretary General, and says execution
will begin in approximately 96 hours.
- October 15: NATO Secretary General Solana travels to Belgrade
to sign the agreement for NATO forces to carry out the air verification
regime to oversee Serbia's compliance with UN Resolution 1199.
- October 16: OSCE President Geremek signs an agreement that calls
for 2,000 members of the Kosovo Verification Mission to move in.
- October 16: NATO extends the deadline for the "Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia" to come into compliance with terms of the accord
on Kosovo, giving President Milosevic until October 27 to honor
the agreement.
- October 20: NATO sends the Supreme Allied Commander (SACEUR),
General Wesley Clark, to Belgrade to deliver a message to the Yugoslav
military leadership on compliance. October 24: UN Security Council
Resolution 1203 is passed, which endorses the OSCE agreement and
demands full cooperation from both sides.
- October 24-25: SACEUR returns to reiterate importance of compliance
as deadline nears. Clark-Naumann agreement sets benchmarks for VJ/MUP
levels.
- October 27: With hours to go before the deadline expires, 4,000
special police troops depart Pristina in a variety of vehicles,
thus bringing Serbia into compliance with the terms of the agreements
it had reached.
- November: The Kosovo Verification Mission, headed by an American,
Ambassador William Walker, begins to arrive and function. Its mission
quickly expands beyond verification to trying to head off armed
conflict through negotiations and mediation.
- November 23: UNSCR 1199 adopted.
- December 13: Serbs claim more than 30 ethnic Albanians are killed
in a series of engagements along the border.
- December 23: The Yugoslav Army and internal security police
undertake military action near Podujevo, in northern Kosovo, along
the main road linking the provincial capital Pristina to Belgrade.
The United States condemns this action.
1999
- January 15: The bodies of 45 ethnic Albanians are discovered
in the village of
Racak.
- January 16: KVM Chief Walker attributes the Racak massacre to
F.R.Y. forces. The international community condemns the massacre.
- January 18: The international community expresses outrage over
the Yugoslav FM's decision to expel Ambassador Walker following
his comments on Racak. He is given 48 hours to depart the country.
- January 21: Under pressure, the Yugoslav government reconsiders
and says that it is "suspending" its declaration that Ambassador
Walker is persona non grata. He is permitted to stay.
- January 21: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees notes that
20,000 people have fled their homes since late December; 5,000 are
from the Racak area alone.
- January 27: Russian FM Ivanov and Secretary of State Albright
meet and issue a joint statement on Kosovo.
- January 29: The six-nation contact group meets in London and
gives Serbs and ethnic Albanians an ultimatum to attend peace talks
in France starting February 6. These talks are to last one week,
with the possibility of an extension to a second week if progress
is deemed to be made.
- January 30: The North Atlantic Council once again agrees that
the Secretary General may authorize air strikes against targets
on Yugoslav territory.
- February 1: Political leaders in Kosovo say they will participate
in proposed peace talks.
- February 2: A KLA spokesman says the KLA will also send representatives
to the talks, thus completing the Albanian delegation.
- February 4: Following a vote in its Parliament, the Serbian
government agrees to participate in the talks.
- February 6: Talks begin in Chateau Rambouillet, in France, under
the auspices of the Contact Group and the co-chairmanship of French
FM Hubert Vedrine and British FM Robin Cook. Three co-mediators
representing the U.S., the European Union, and the Russian Federation
preside. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright participates
actively and in person in the final days of the talks.
- February 23: After a further extension of the deadline for 3
days, the talks pause. At the last minute, the ethnic Albanian delegation
agrees in principle to sign the political accord but says it first
wants to return home to consult further. The Serbs say they support
a political agreement but charge that it was changed at the last
minute to suit the Albanian side; they continue to reject any discussions
of the military annex, because it includes a "NATO-led" peace-keeping
force in Kosovo. The co-chairs announce that talks will resume on
March 15.
- March 8: Senator Dole, unable to get a visa from the F.R.Y.
to travel to Kosovo, goes to Macedonia instead to meet with the
Kosovo Albanian delegation in an effort to persuade them to sign
the agreement.
- March 10: Ambassadors Holbrooke and Hill travel to Belgrade
to urge Milosevic to accept the interim political accord for Kosovo.
- March 15: Talks resume at the Kleber Center in Paris. The ethnic
Albanian delegation signs the interim agreement proposed at last
month's meetings in Rambouillet. President Clinton encourages Milosevic
to agree to the terms as well in order to avoid further conflict
and bloodshed.
- March 18: The Paris peace talks are suspended, as the Serb delegation
refuses to budge and, in fact, walks back from its earlier positions
at Rambouillet. In the meantime, one-third of the FRY's total armed
forces have massed in and around Kosovo.
- March 19: Kosovo Verification Mission withdraws.
- March 20: The Yugoslav armed units launch an offensive, driving
thousands of ethnic Albanians out of their homes and villages, summarily
executing some, displacing many others, and setting fire to many
houses.
- March 21: One last diplomatic effort is made by the international
community, which sends Ambassador Holbrooke to Belgrade to deliver
a "final warning" to Milosevic.
- March 22: The NAC authorizes Secretary-General Solana to decide,
upon further consultations, on a broad range of air operations,
if necessary.
- March 23: Ambassador Holbrooke departs Belgrade in the evening,
having received no concessions of any kind from Milosevic.
- March 24: NATO airstrikes began. Tens of thousands of Kosovars
have already fled the heavy fighting throughout Kosovo.
- March 25: The Yugoslav government breaks off diplomatic relations
with the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
- March 26-30: NAC decisions to escalate air campaign to phase
II and then phase II-plus.
- March 27: Ethnic Albanians who have fled or been expelled from
their homes in Kosovo begin pouring into Albania and Macedonia.
A U.S. F-117 stealth fighter goes down near Belgrade but the pilot
is rescued. Meanwhile, the Russian Duma adopts a resolution condemning
the NATO actions and postponing ratification of the Start II treaty.
- March 29: It is reported that refugees are crossing the border
from Kosovo at a rate of 4,000 per hour. In Albania there are about
60,000 refugees, half of whom had arrived in the past 48 hours.
In Montenegro, the government announces that its "technical and
political" limit of 50,000 refugees would be reached imminently.
- March 30: Russian PM Primakov, FM Ivanov and DM Sergeyev hold
talks with President Milosevic in Belgrade.
- April 1: Three U.S. soldiers are captured near the Macedonia-F.R.Y.
border and shown, bruised, on Serb television. Kosovar refugee count
stands at 48,000 in Montenegro; 104,000 in Albania; and 30,500 in
Macedonia.
- April 3: NATO missiles strike central Belgrade for the first
time and destroy the Yugoslav and Serbian interior ministries.
- April 4: An airlift is proposed to take 100,000 refugees from
the front line states to NATO countries. Macedonia agrees to camps
for another 100,000.
- April 6: NATO airstrikes hit the residential area of Aleksinac,
killing five. F.R.Y. declares a unilateral cease-fire to commence
at 1200 EDT and last until 1800 EDT April 11. Belgrade claims that
all F.R.Y. army and police actions in Kosovo will end and that the
government will negotiate with Rugova. NATO rejects the offer, with
French President Chirac calling the proposed cease-fire indefensible
without a political agreement and security package. State Department
Spokesman James Rubin announces the five conditions for NATO bombing
to end.
- April 9: Bosnia's Kosovar refugee population crosses the 31,000
mark.
- April 10: F.R.Y. expels about 2,000 Kosovars from the village
of Vragolja. Belgrade warns Albania not to allow "terrorist" attacks
from its territory or risk an escalation of the war. In discussion
with the OSCE, Russian FM Ivanov says that a NATO-led Kosovo implementation
force was "unrealistic" and calls for greater UN involvement.
- April 12: After reaching a compromise with Russia and Belarus,
Hungary releases an aid convoy to the F.R.Y., including some trucks
supplying diesel oil. UNHCR reports that 309,000 Kosovars have fled
to Albania and 119,380 are in Macedonia to date. NATO hits a passenger
train south of Belgrade, killing 30 according to the F.R.Y. NATO
apologizes for the accident.
- April 14: Germany unveils a plan for a 24-hour halt to the airstrikes
to give the F.R.Y. a chance to start pulling out of Kosovo. Russian
President Yeltsin names former PM Chernomyrdin as F.R.Y. peace envoy.
NATO airstrikes hit a Kosovar civilian convoy in Kosovo. F.R.Y.
reports 64 dead.
- April 16: Kosovar refugee exodus returns to the crisis level
of 20,000 per day.
- April 17: The Pentagon announces that U.S. Forces are holding
a F.R.Y. POW who was captured by the KLA.
- April 18: UNHCR reports 359,000 refugees in Albania and 132,700
in Macedonia to date. UN High Commissioner Ogata estimates that
well over half a million Kosovars have now fled to other countries
since the bombing started. F.R.Y. formally charges two detained
Australian aid workers with spying on military installations.
- April 20: U.S. Representative James Saxton meets with F.R.Y.
FM Jovanovic in Belgrade. NATO allows safe passage for Russian Patriarch
Alexi II to visit Serbian Patriarch Pavle. OSCE reports that Serb
forces and Albanian troops exchanged gunfire in the first clash
between the two armies since the start of the crisis. NATO Secretary-General
Solana directs update of ground force plans.
- April 21: It is reported that all EU countries have agreed to
back a proposed plan to stop oil product deliveries by or through
member states to the F.R.Y. NATO missiles in Belgrade hit the headquarters
of Milosevic's Serbian Socialist Party and his private residence.
- April 22: NATO Summit decision on Kosovo reaffirms Five Points
and adds conditions for suspending bombing. NATO announces intensification
of air campaign.
- April 23: NATO destroys the Serbian state television building
in central Belgrade, killing at least 10 people. The FRY agrees
to accept an international military presence in Kosovo after Chernomyrdin-Milosevic
talks in Belgrade.
- April 24: Kosovo dominates the NATO 50th anniversary summit
in Washington. Member nations announce plans for a visit and search
regime to cut off the flow of oil to the F.R.Y.
- April 25: NATO invites Chernomyrdin to talks on Kosovo. Canadian
FM Axworthy announces he will go to Moscow to meet with him. F.R.Y.
Deputy PM Vuk Draskovic is interviewed on Studio B TV. He calls
on Serb leaders to tell the public "the truth" about NATO's resolve,
world opinion toward the Serbs, and that Russia will not provide
military aid to the F.R.Y. Draskovic advises the Serb population
to support the introduction of a UN peacekeeping force in Kosovo.
- April 26: ICRC President Summaruga meets briefly with the three
captured U.S. servicemen.
- April 27: Deputy Secretary Talbott meets Russian FM Ivanov in
Moscow. It is announced that the Rev. Jesse Jackson will lead a
delegation to Belgrade on April 29.
- April 28: Deputy PM Draskovic is sacked by Milosevic.
- April 29: F.R.Y. files suit at the International Court of Justice
against 10 NATO countries. UNSYG Annan arrives in Moscow and meets
with Chernomyrdin prior to the Russian envoy's departure for Bonn,
Rome and Belgrade.
- April 30: NATO hits the VJ headquarters and Defense Ministry.
Rev. Jackson arrives in Belgrade and meets with the U.S. servicemen.
Russian envoy Chernomyrdin reports "progress" after 6 hours of talks
with Milosevic in Belgrade.
- May 1: President Clinton extends U.S. sanctions to ban oil sales
and freeze Belgrade's assets in the U.S.. Following an agreement
with NATO and F.R.Y. authorities on modalities, the ICRC announces
plans to return to Kosovo. Rev. Jackson secures the release of the
captured servicemen following a 3-hour meeting with Milosevic.
- May 2: Rev. Jackson escorts the released servicemen to Ramstein
AFB and reportedly carries a letter from Milosevic to Clinton calling
for face-to-face talks. A U.S. F-16 crashes inside the F.R.Y. and
the pilot is rescued. NATO bombs hit a power transmission facility
at Obrenovac, cutting off power in most F.R.Y. cities.
- May 3: F.R.Y. navy closes Montenegrin port of Bar to civilian
shipping. Montenegrin officials characterize the action as another
step in Milosevic's "creeping coup" against them.
- May 4: Russian envoy Chernomyrdin meets with U.S. officials
and UNSYG Annan. U.S. fighters shoot down a Mig-29 near the F.R.Y.-Bosnian
border. The Bulgarian parliament approves an agreement for NATO
to use their airspace.
- May 5: Two U.S. Army pilots are killed when an Apache helicopter
crashes on a training mission in Albania, the first Allied deaths
in the NATO actions against the F.R.Y. The first group of Kosovar
refugees arrive in Fort Dix. Ibrahim Rugova arrives in Italy with
his family.
- May 6: Rugova tells a press conference in Rome that NATO's participation
in an international peacekeeping force and the withdrawal of Serb
forces were both essential conditions for the return of refugees.
At the Group of Eight meeting in Bonn, the West and Russia announce
agreement over the basic strategy to resolve the conflict.
- May 7: Moderate Albanian leader Fehmi Agani is found dead in
Kosovo. NATO planes accidentally hit the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade,
killing 3 and wounding 20.
- May 8: The UNSC convenes in an emergency session to debate the
bombing of the Chinese Embassy. China implicitly accuses the U.S.
and NATO of a deliberate attack while the alliance apologizes for
a "terrible mistake." Thousands demonstrate in front of U.S. diplomatic
posts in China. Russian FM Ivanov cancels his trip to London in
the wake of the attack.
- May 9: President Clinton writes to Chinese President Jiang Zemin
to offer regrets for the bombing. Chinese demonstrations continue.
UNHCR announces it is facing a financial crisis in its Kosovo emergency
operations.
- May 10: Chinese demonstrations continue for a third day. China
suspends contacts with the U.S. regarding arms control and human
rights. Serbs announce a partial withdrawal from Kosovo. F.R.Y.
accuses NATO of genocide and demands that the World Court order
an immediate end to NATO air strikes.
- May 11: Russian envoy Chernomyrdin meets with President Jiang
Zemin in Beijing and labels the Chinese embassy bombing an act of
aggression. China hints that it might hold up Western attempts to
achieve a peace deal at the UN unless the bombing stops. NATO disputes
F.R.Y. claims of a troop withdrawal from Kosovo, saying that F.R.Y.
military and police had actually stepped up their actions against
the KLA. Albanian frontier police and F.R.Y. forces exchange fire
at the F.R.Y.-Albania border; two civilians are killed. UNHCR says
it is running out of cash to deal with the refugee crisis.
- May 12: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder visits China on
a "working visit." Chinese fatalities from the embassy bombing arrive
in Beijing, but no demonstrations are reported at U.S. diplomatic
missions in China. NATO claims hits on F.R.Y. troops and the destruction
of five MIG-21 planes. Russian FM Ivanov and Deputy Secretary Talbott
begin meetings in Moscow.
- May 13: U.S.-funded Camp Hope in Fier, Albania, opens to Kosovar
refugees from F.Y.R.O.M..
- May 14: About 87 Kosovar Albanians are killed in the village
of Korisa by NATO bombing. NATO says that it hit a military target
and suggests that Serb troops were using civilians as human shields.
Amnesty International says that Korisa had been under attack by
VJ and MUP forces prior to the bombing. The ICRC returns to Kosovo
for the first time since March 29 to assess humanitarian needs in
and around Pristina. The UNHCR receives 20 million Euros from the
EC for assistance to Kosovo refugees.
- May 15: F.R.Y. announces that the two Australian aid workers
held on suspicion of espionage will go on trial this week in Belgrade.
The Non-Aligned Movement nations approve a UNSC resolution on the
Kosovo humanitarian situation along the lines of the G-8 principles.
- May 16: A Kosovar refugee who witnessed the NATO strike on Korisa
reports to Deutsche Welle that F.R.Y. police forced some 600 displaced
Kosovars to serve as human shields there before the attack. The
F.R.Y. army detains about 150 draft-age Kosovar refugee males in
Montenegro and transports them back into Kosovo. Italian PM D'Alema
proposes a NATO cease-fire on condition that Russia and China support
a UNSC resolution imposing the G-8 terms on Milosevic.
- May 17: The EU announces that Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari
will serve as the EU's new senior Kosovo envoy. The Greeks call
for a temporary cease-fire "to give diplomacy a chance."
- May 18: The two Serb POWs held at Ramstein AFB are returned
to the FRY.
- May 22: NATO bombs army barracks at Kosare, unaware it was captured
by Kosovo Liberation Army guerillas a month earlier.
- May 23: NATO begins a bombing campaign of the Yugoslav electricity
grid, creating a major disruption of power and water supplies.
- May 24: Sergio Vieira de Mello, head of the UN fact-finding
mission, announces he saw "revolting" signs of ethnic cleansing
in Kosovo.
- May 25: NATO agrees to increase the size of an eventual ground
force in Kosovo to about 48,000.
- May 27: Milosevic and four other Serbian leaders are indicted
by the UN war crimes tribunal for crimes against humanity.
- May 29: Two Australian aid workers and Yugoslav colleague are
convicted in Belgrade of espionage and are jailed.
- June 1: The FRY tells Germany it has accepted Group of Eight
principles for peace and demands an end to NATO bombing.
- June 3: The FRY accepts terms brought to Belgrade by EU envoy
Ahtisaari and Russian envoy Chernomyrdin. NATO announces that NATO
raids have killed over 5,000 members of Yugoslav security forces
and wounded more than 10,000.
- June 6: NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana announces it will
be difficult to help rebuild Yugoslavia while Milosevic remains
in power.
- June 7: NATO and Yugoslav commanders fail to agree to terms
of pullout from Kosovo and suspend talks. NATO intensifies bombing.
G 8 foreign ministers in Bonn attempt to finalize UN resolution.
The FRY insists on a UN Security Council resolution before any foreign
troops enter Kosovo.
- June 8: Russia's defense minister says his ministry has drawn
up proposals for sending up to 10,000 troops to a peacekeeping force
in Kosovo, but they would not be under NATO command. The Kosovo
Liberation Army promises the United States its forces will let Serb
forces withdraw from the province of Kosovo without attacking them.
The West and Russia reach a landmark agreement on a draft UN resolution
at G8 talks in Cologne. NATO calls on Milosevic to resume military
talks on troop withdrawal at once. The resolution, which calls for
an "international security presence" under the auspices of the UN,
is being studied by Security Council members. NATO says a B-52 bomber
catches two Yugoslav Army batallions in the open near the Kosovo-Albanian
border, possibly killing many hundreds of them on June 7. Talks
between senior NATO and FRY officers on a Serb pullout from Kosovo
resume in Macedonia and continue into the night. China's deputy
permanent UN representative in New York, Shen Guofang, says Beijing
still has "some difficulties" with two points in the text on the
draft UN resolution.
- June 9: Military talks continue with senior NATO and FRY officers
with three interruptions, when FRY officers leave the talks to consult
with Belgrade. Late in the day a Military Technical Agreement is
signed between the two parties.
- June 10: After receiving definite evidence that Serb forces
are withdrawing from northern Kosovo, Solana calls a suspension
of NATO airstrikes. UN Security Council adopts resolution 1244 on
Kosovo. US Deputy Secretary of State Talbott rules out a separate
sector for the Russians in Kosovo. In Cologne, G8 ministers draft
a plan to anchor the Balkans to Western Europe and rebuild Kosovo.
- June 11: Russian President Yeltsin says ties with NATO remain
frozen, despite NATO's bombing suspension, but he does not rule
out improvement. Russian troops enter Yugoslavia from Bosnia, US
says it has pledge from Moscow they will not enter Kosovo before
NATO.
- June 12: Russian troops enter Pristina 3-1/2 hours before NATO
troops enter Kosovo and take up position at the airport. Russian
Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov calls the deployment an "unfortunate
mistake." British NATO troops enter Kosovo at dawn to begin taking
control from withdrawing Serbian forces and reach Pristina in the
afternoon. French and US troops also enter Kosovo.
- June 13: Hundreds of Serbian soldiers pull out of Pristina.
Russian troops are still encamped at Pristina airport and refuse
to let British and French troops move onto the airport.
- June 14: Kosovar Serbs flee Kosovo as ethnic Albanian refugees
pour in. The ultra-nationalist Radical Party led by Serbian Deputy
Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj quits the Serbian government. NATO
cordons off mass gravesites around Kacanik, which locals say contain
91 villagers killed by Serb paramilitaries. 20,000 hungry and displaced
ethnic Albanian refugees are discovered in Glogovac, west of Pristina.
- June 15: Russian troops sharing control of the main airport
at Pristina ask British NATO forces for supplies. A Russian relief
convoy to resupply them departs from their base in Bosnia. NATO
peacekeepers arrest five suspected KLA soldiers during the night
after a Serb was killed in Pristina. OSCE reports that approximately
2,000 refugees have begun to return to Kosovo from Albania. The
remains of at least 20 ethnic Albanians are discovered by Dutch
peacekeepers in Velika Krusa. Italian troops find two mass graves
in the village of Korenica near the Kosovo town of Pec. Four Albanians
are murdered in the provincial capital, Pristina. Two ethnic Albanians
returning home are killed by a landmine, another one is injured.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reports that
at least 33,000 ethnic Serbs have fled since the weekend. Serbia's
influential Orthodox Church urges Yugoslav President Milosevic and
government to resign. Serbian President Milan Milutinovic issues
a resolution rejecting the ultra-nationalist Radical Party's resignation
from the Serbian government.
- June 16: NATO reports that the Yugoslav withdrawal from Zone
1, the zone extending from Pristina to Kosovo's southern border
is largely completed by the midnight deadline. Serb forces are given
an additional 24 hours to vacate the zone due to road congestion.
Defense Secretary William Cohen meets with his Russian counterpart
in Helsinki, Finland, to negotiate the standoff over Russian participation
in the international security force in Kosovo.
- June 17: A British official estimates that Serb forces killed
more than 10,000 people during two months of war and ethnic cleansing.
President Clinton announces that he is "positive and hopeful" that
an agreement can be worked out on Russian peacekeeping troops in
Kosovo, but says Russian soldiers must come under NATO command,
in order to ensure unity of command. UNHCR estimated that 18,400
refugees returned to Kosovo on June 17.
- June 18: Secretary Albright and Defense Secretary Cohen reach
agreement with their Russian counterparts in Helsinki about Russian
participation in Kosovo. They decide that Russia will not have a
separate sector in Kosovo, unity of command of the international
security force will be preserved, Kosovo will not be partitioned,
with Russian troops serving in US, French and German sectors, and
that all KFOR forces will operate under common rules of engagement.
In addition, the agreement states that the Pristina airport will
be open for all members of the international security force. UNHCR
estimates that 21,000 refugees returned to Kosovo on June 18. A
meeting of the G8 nations takes places in Cologne, with the hope
of rebuilding Kosovo. President Clinton stresses that reconstruction
goes beyond material needs and that, "we will have to give a lot
of care to the emotional, the psychological scars of the Kosovars
- especially the children."
- June 19: Among the International Security Force's pledges that
it will protect all citizens in Kosovo, Serbia calls on fleeing
Kosovar Serbs to return to Kosovo. A British forensic team finds
more evidence of the atrocities committed by the Serbs in Velika
Krusa. 100 bodies are found. UNHCR estimates that 29,000 Kosovar
Albanians returned to Kosovo on June 19. NATO warns refugees that
dozens of refugees have already been wounded by land mines or booby
traps and two have been killed in Kosovo.
- June 20: In accordance with the June 9th Military Technical
Agreement, Serb forces completely withdraw from Kosovo, leading
NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana to officially end NATO's bombing
campaign in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. Despite UNHCR's pleas
for refugees to wait to return to Kosovo, UNHCR estimates that more
than 100,000 have returned to Kosovo in the first week after the
peace deal was signed. At the G8 Summit in Cologne, President Clinton
and Russian President Yeltsin agree to put their differences over
Kosovo behind them.
- June 21: NATO and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) officials
sign a disarmament agreement. The KLA's promise to disarm leads
President Clinton to call KLA commander Hashim Thaci and thank him
for signing the deal. UNHCR estimates that 35,400 refugees returned
to Kosovo on June 21, while 140,000 refugees returned to date. Two
KFOR soldiers and two civilians die while trying to detonate piles
of unexploded NATO cluster bombs.
- June 22: Secretary of State Albright visits Romanian and Bulgarian
leaders and thanks them for their assistance during NATO's air campaign.
UNHCR estimates that 37,150 refugees returned to Kosovo on June
22, while 214,050 returned to date. NATO and UNHCR announce that
organized repatriations of refugees to Kosovo will begin next week.
NATO states that it will assist in returning refugees from Albania
on July 1, while UNHCR states that organized returns from Macedonia
could begin even earlier. President Clinton visits a refugee camp
in Macedonia, where he urged refugees to wait until it has been
deemed safe before they returned to Kosovo. He also urged the refugees
not to seek revenge on the Kosovar Serbs. President Clinton meets
with the Presidents of Albania and Macedonia and thanks them for
the role they played in helping Kosovar refugees. The President
meets with KFOR troops. UN Secretary General Annan announces that
Dominique Vian, governor of French Guyana, will be Annan's deputy
special representative for the interim civilian administration in
Kosovo. In a move for peace, KLA leader Hashim Thaqi expresses his
hopes that the KLA and moderate Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova could
work together.
- June 23: The leaders of Germany, Italy, France, and the UK met
in Kosovo to see the situation first hand. French Defense Minister
Richard and German Foreign Minister Fischer visits KFOR troops,
while British Foreign Secretary Cook visits an atrocity site. At
the request of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Swiss government freezes the assets of Milosevic
and four other war criminals. An opinion poll conducted from June
9 to 14 surveying 800 people across Serbia shows Milosevic's popularity
declining. UNHCR estimates that 29,000 refugees returned to Kosovo
on June 23.
- June 24: The Yugoslav parliament approves a government proposal
to end the state of war, which was in effect since March 24. They
decide to lift the war regime on June 26. NATO Secretary General
Solana and Supreme Commander General Clark visit Kosovo where they
meet with KFOR Commander General Jackson and with leaders of ethnic
Albanian and Serb communities. Solana urges Kosovar Serbs, to stay
in Kosovo, where KFOR will protect them, and urges Kosovar Albanians
not to seek revenge, but instead work to establish a democratic,
multiethnic society. A US initiated rewards program is announced
by the State Department, offering up to 5 million dollars for information
leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of persons indicted
for serious violations of international humanitarian law by the
ICTY. UNHCR estimates that 34,500 refugees returned to Kosovo on
June 24, and that 251,700 have returned to date.
- June 25: Russia's upper house of Parliament approves Russian
participation in KFOR. Thousands of Roma flee their homes due to
revenge attacks by ethnic Albanians, who accuse the Roma of collaborating
with the Serbs. The UNHCR estimates that 48,800 refugees returned
to Kosovo on June 25th, 300,500 refugees have returned to date.
- June 26: The FRY officially lifts the state of war, although
most restrictions remain in place through the Serbian Parliament.
- June 27: The village of Bellopoje, near Pec is looted and burned
to the ground. Russian aircraft land at Pristina airfield to deliver
additional troops and equipment. Romania suspends its air corridor
for Russian aircraft flying to Kosovo after a plane is deemed to
have violated an accord. German KFOR forces announce a curfew in
Prizren to hinder violence.
- June 28: KFOR continues to deploy throughout Kosovo, troops
in Kosovo now number 23,000. UNHCR estimates that 415,900 refugees
have returned to Kosovo to date. UNHCR begins organized return of
ethnic Albanian refugees from Macedonia to Kosovo. About 320 refugees
depart Stankovic camp aboard UN buses. UN begins soliciting personnel
contributions from UN countries for an international civilian police
mission as part of the international provisional administration.
The US offers to provide a substantial contingent of police to serve
in the mission. EU leaders pick Bodo Hombach as their Balkans stability
pact coordinator and select Thessaloniki as the base for an EU reconstruction
agency.
- June 29: UNHCR continues organized returns from Macedonia, 370
refugees returned to Kosovo on UN buses on June 29. 447,100 refugees
have returned to Kosovo to date. Following the undertaking, the
KLA establishes weapon storage sites by the deadline, midnight on
June 28. KLA personnel have vacated fighting positions, are moving
to assembly areas, and are assisting KFOR with mine clearance. Pristina
airfield closes until July 3 to allow for reconstruction and equipment
installation. UNHCR introduces a new identity card for refugees
to rectify the removal by Serb forces of all documents providing
the identity of those forced out of Kosovo. The cards will be used
until new formal documentation can be issued in Kosovo. The UN deploys
the first team of the international police force in Kosovo, which
will help to address criminal activities. UNHCR estimates that approximately
25,000 refugees returned to Kosovo on June 30.
- June 30: Secretary Albright meets with other UN foreign ministers
at a meeting of the "Friends of Kosovo" group. UN Secretary General
Annan called the meeting to ask the key players involved in Kosovo
for monetary and personnel support to begin the task of organizing
the interim civil administration. Commitments to the UN police force
for Kosovo reach more than 900. US pledges to contribute 450 police
officers. The UN takes a step in re-establishing the judicial system
in Kosovo, by appointing three district court judges, two investigating
judges, and four public prosecutors to address the issue of detainees
arrested by KFOR. UNHCR organized returns continue in Macedonia
with 700 refugees returned to Kosovo. Organized returns from Albania
start with 800 refugees beginning their two-day trip back to Kosovo.
UNHCR estimates that 23,500 refugees returned to Kosovo on June
30 equaling 500,600 returns to date.
- July 1: Following two days of NATO - Russia discussions at SHAPE
on detailed modalities for full-scale Russian deployment, the Russian
delegation has returns to Moscow for consultations. UNHCR organized
returns continue in Macedonia and Albania. The FBI team concludes
its on-site investigation of the sites in Gjakove (Djakovica) that
were assigned to them by the ICTY prosecutor. UNHCR estimated that
23,300 refugees returned to Kosovo on July 1.
- July 2: The UN Secretary General informs the President of the
Security Council of his intention to appoint Mr. Bernard Kouchner
(France) as his Special Representative to head the United Nations
Mission in Kosovo. He appoints Mr. Jock Covey (USA) as Principal
Deputy to his Special Representative. The four major components
of the mission will each be headed by a Deputy Special Representative
and are: Interim Civil Administration, Mr. Dominique Vian (France),
Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Dennis McNamara (New Zealand), Institution
Building, Mr. Daan Everts (Netherlands), and Reconstruction, Mr.
Jolly Dixon (UK). UN Acting Special Representative Sergio Vieira
de Mello states that he wants Kosovar Serbs and Albanians to form
a council to take on political decisions and to try to quell the
violence in Kosovo. After meeting Vieira de Mello, Kosovar Albanian
and Serb leaders issue a joint appeal for an end to the violence
in Kosovo. KFOR detains six heavily armed Serbs in Orahovac, and
detained 5 Serbian VJ soldiers July 1, who were on the Kosovo/Serbia
border in the vicinity of Novakova. They were detained because they
violated the 5-km ground security zone as specified in the Military
Technical Agreement of June 9.
- July 4: Discussions between NATO (SHAPE) and Russia continue.
A land mine blast killed a child in a field where people had already
been working without incident.
- July 5: UNHCR estimates that 81,700 refugees returned to Kosovo
over the weekend, 606,300 returned to date. Russia and NATO continue
talks on Russian KFOR participation.
- July 6: A spontaneous protest against the Milosevic regime erupts
in Leskovac after a call for action against the local government
by a television editor. It is reported that up to 20,000 people
joined the protest, which was observed, but not stopped by the police.
Discussions in Moscow on July 4-5 between NATO (SHAPE) and Russia
resolved outstanding military technical details on Russian participation
in KFOR, especially on precise deployments, command arrangements
and rules of engagement. No new elements were introduced as a result
of the discussions. The reconstruction work and installation of
equipment at the Pristina Airfield is completed. Several flights
land in Pristina. Newly appointed Special Representative for Kosovo,
Bernard Kouchner announces that he will be traveling to Kosovo next
week to take over what he described as a "very heavy and very difficult
task" from the Acting Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello.
- July 7: UN Secretary General Annan announces that US appeals
court judge Patricia Wald will succeed Gabrielle Kirk McDonald on
the ICTY. Wald will be one of fourteen judges on the tribunal. In
the FRY, anti-Milosevic demonstrations occur in Nis, where demonstrators
collect signatures on a petition calling for Milosevic to resign,
Leskovac, and also in Uzice, where Alliance For Change drew more
than 5,000 people. UNHCR organized returns from Montenegro begin
with 407 refugees traveling on the first convoy back to Kosovo.
UNHCR estimates that 10,200 refugees returned to Kosovo on July
7, 628,800 returned to date.
- July 8: Almost 2500 civil police of 3100 needed have been pledged
to the UN civil police mission. In Belgrade, the Democratic Party,
which holds 31 of 110 Belgrade City Council seats, calls for Milosevic
to resign and submits a declaration to that effect for City Council
approval. 160 of the 48,000 refugees in Germany return to Kosovo.
- July 12: In Macedonia, UN war crimes prosecutor Arbour expresses
her belief that having Milosevic on trial is a very realistic goal.
She also states that she believes that additional war crimes charges
will be made as investigations continue in Kosovo. A crowd of anti-Milosevic
demonstrators stormed the headquarters of Milosevic's Socialist
Party in Valjevo. UNHCR estimates that 662,000 refugees have left
Kosovo as of July 11. Representatives from many countries hosting
Kosovar refugees, as well as the UNHCR and the International Organization
for Migration (IOM), meet in Geneva and agree to accept UNHCR guidelines
for voluntary returns and to coordinate the return process.
- July 13: A petition for Milosevic to resign circulates in Belgrade.
UN war crimes prosecutor Louise Arbour arrives in Kosovo where she
meets with KFOR commander Gen. Jackson. UN agencies announce their
intent to start organized voluntary return of refugees from countries
outside the Balkans on July 15. Up to one thousand per day are expected
to fly into Skopje, and then move onto Kosovo. In due course, some
may fly directly into Pristina. UN agencies announce that all refugees
wanting to return can expect to be back in Kosovo before winter.
Two more mass graves, with 4 and 230 bodies respectively, are found
in Kosovo.
- July 14: UN war crimes prosecutor Louise Arbour visits a mass
grave site in Kosovo. While there, Arbour states, "every step we
take, every grave that we uncover, every indictment we bring is
an irreversible step" towards bringing those indicted closer to
justice. David Gowan, the British Foreign Office's Kosovo War Crimes
Co-ordinator, verifies earlier British government estimates that
at least 10,000 Kosovar Albanians died in ethnic cleansing atrocities.
Sergio Vieira de Mello visits Kosovo, where he states that Kosovo's
political leaders must "take urgent and effective action to establish
calm" in Kosovo. He further urges the political leaders to call
on their supporters to not engage in violence. Vieira de Mello also
calls on the people of Kosovo to work with the international community
to prevent violent acts and to "speak out against acts of intimidation,
violence and random crime" directed against the different ethnic
groups in Kosovo. He states, "everyone who wishes to see his or
her children enjoy a prosperous and secure life in a new and democratic
Kosovo has a duty to help end this violence now." UNHCR estimates
that 654,600 refugees have returned to Kosovo to date.
- July 15: Special Representative for the UN Secretary-General
Bernard Kouchner arrives in Kosovo. While in Kosovo Kouchner states
that "the people of Kosovo must listen, must talk, must walk with
us, not only to build the administration of course, but also the
democracy." He also urges Kosovar Serbs and Albanians to move towards
"peace and reconciliation, so that people may speak to each other
and build a democracy and another system of life." The head of the
Kosovo Democratic League, Ibrahim Rugova, visits Kosovo briefly,
where he expresses his willingness to work with the KLA and "all
the political forces of Kosovo and with international institutions
and administration."
- July 16: The first meeting of the Kosovo Transitional Council
meets with Special Representative for the UN Secretary General Kouchner.
This council brings together all the ethnic communities in Kosovo,
and will serve as an intermediary with UN officials. Ibrahim Rugova
did not attend the meeting. UNHCR announces that protection of Serbs
in Kosovo is now their "most critical issue." World Food Program
estimates show that 146,000 Serbs have fled Kosovo for Serbia. NATO
Secretary-General Solana states, "the political forces in Kosovo
must have a common objective, they must work together and must see
they are rebuilding a country for which the international community
has done a lot." UNHCR estimates that 662,000 refugees have returned
to Kosovo to date. During the week UNHCR, with the help of the German
THW agency distributes 2,000 emergency shelter kits in the Orahovac
area and plans to distribute 16,000 more.
- July 17: OSCE starts recruitment of a new Kosovo Police Force.
- July 18: Two U.S. KFOR soldiers die in a car accident near Domorovce
when their armored personnel carrier overturns.
- July 19: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder meets with Serbian
opposition leader Zoran Djindjic, after which Chancellor Schroeder
pledges his support for the Serbian opposition. Chancellor Schroeder
states, "Germany supports the opposition and there is an interest
in all of Europe that democracy comes to Yugoslavia -- a democracy
without Milosevic." In central Serbia, Vuk Draskovic, leader of
the Serbian Renewal Movement, launches a campaign for early elections
saying it was time to end Milosevic's rule. According to press reports,
his top priority is to establish a transitional government under
Milosevic to end sanctions. He also calls for Milosevic to be given
immunity from arrest or extradition from his war crimes charges
as an incentive for him to step down. State Department spokesman
James Rubin reiterates the U.S. Government position against granting
sanctuary or amnesty to indicted war criminals as a violation against
UN Security Council resolutions. In the Italian sector, the bodies
of four ethnic Albanians are found southwest of Klina. All had been
shot. Also, a KFOR patrol discovers a KLA detention camp at Ponosevac.
One detainee is found and seven KLA are arrested.
- July 21: Under Secretary for Global Affairs Frank E. Loy meets
with UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata. He tells her
that the U.S. will provide an additional $61.7 million to UNHCR
to aid refugees in Kosovo and elsewhere around the world. Fifty
million dollars will support the UNHCR's programs to assist Kosovar
refugees and IDPs return home and begin rebuilding their lives and
communities. Of the $50 million designated for Kosovo $10 million
will be used to launch a Kosovar Women's Initiative, supporting
counseling, job training, and microcredit programs, etc. Another
$5 million of the Kosovo donation will go to implement humanitarian
projects in Montenegro. The UNHCR moves displaced Roma from a school
at Kosovo Polje, where they had been taking shelter for weeks, to
a new tented site at Obilic with a capacity for around 5,000. KFOR
will provide security at the site. UNHCR estimates that 716,800
refugees have returned to Kosovo as of July 21. UNHCR estimates
the number of IDPs from Kosovo in Serbia and Montenegro at 170,000.
In the past week, UNHCR delivered more than 80,000 blankets, 24,000
hygienic kits and sanitary items, tons of soap, as well as jerrycans,
stoves, heaters, and humanitarian daily rations to Red Cross branches
in Belgrade, Kraljevo, and Bar areas for distribution to IDPs. The
UN reports that it has approximately 156 police officers from 13
countries now in Kosovo.
- July 22: Former F.R.Y. Army Chief of Staff Momcilo Perisic calls
for the peaceful removal of the Milosevic regime from power. Midnight
July 21 was the deadline for KLA forces to place all prohibited
arms and 30% of all automatic weapons in secure storage sites. KFOR
Commander General Jackson indicates that he is "encouraged by the
quantity of weapons that have been handed in over the past few days,"
however he notes that time is necessary to ensure that the accounting
process is completed correctly. He grants KLA Gen. Agim Ceku's request
for more time so that he can be certain his forces have complied
with the undertaking. General Jackson says that he sees General
Ceku's request as an "indication of the seriousness with which General
Ceku is taking this important issue."
- July 23: Five ethnic Albanians are detained after an exchange
of fire with KFOR troops in western Kosovo. UNHCR estimates that
720,700 refugees have returned to Kosovo as of July 23. The UN's
Mine Action Coordination Center becomes operational in Pristina,
serving as a focal point for the planning and coordination of mine
and unexploded ordnance related activities in Kosovo. Fourteen Serb
farmers are shot dead in Kosovo at night in the village of Gracko.
KFOR spokesman Major Jan Joosten states that "KFOR and the international
police will hunt down those responsible for this awful crime. We
will ensure they are brought to justice to face the full might of
the law."
- July 24: UN Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour states that she has
launched an investigation into the killing of 14 Serbs on July 23.
Around 260 Serbs returned to Kosovo from Belgrade and Kraljevo areas
on July 24. Escorted by KFOR troops, the Serbs proceeded to Kosovo
Polje.
- July 26: A group of Yugoslav army reservists in Nis begin a
hunger strike in protest over outstanding payments. UNHCR estimates
that 727,000 refugees have returned to Kosovo as of July 26. UNSYG
Special Representative Kouchner postpones the Kosovo Transitional
Council meeting for July 26 at request of Serb members. UNHCR releases
the "second cut" of its Rapid Village Assessment. The report uses
data collected from 456 war-affected villages and indicates that
54% of the houses in those villages suffered severe damage or complete
destruction. A functioning health facility was reported in 23% of
the villages, a health worker was present in 68% of the villages
and 40% of the villages said they had inadequate water supply.
- July 27: Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis travels to Kosovo
to visit Greek KFOR troops.
- July 28: Radio Pristina starts broadcasting in Albanian, Serb-Croat,
and Turkish under the supervision of OSCE. Donors pledge $2.082
billion in aid for Kosovo at the Donor's Conference in Brussels.
The U.S. pledges $556 million in additional humanitarian aid and
urgent non-humanitarian aid for Kosovo, from the budget supplemental
passed by Congress and signed by the President on May 21, 1999.
The $500 million promised by the U.S. is going toward food aid,
health care, clean water, emergency shelter, winterization supplies,
landmine clearance, and agricultural assistance. The U.S. allocated
$41 million of that amount for police training and $20 million of
that amount for the prosecution of war crimes. All U.S. pledges
are subject to a clear assessment of overall needs, congressional
concurrence, and confirmation that U.S. aid will form one part of
a robust international effort. Chris Poortman, World Bank coordinator
for southeast Europe, announces after the conference that Kosovo's
"most immediate urgent requirements which were the objectives of
this meeting have been met." UNHCR estimates that 734,000 refugees
have returned to Kosovo as of July 28.
- July 29: Secretary of State Albright visits Kosovo, where she
meets with KFOR Commander General Michael Jackson and SRSG Bernard
Kouchner. After talks with the two, she states that she is encouraged
by the cooperation between the UN and KFOR mission. Secretary Albright
also meets with Serbian Orthodox Archbishop Artemije and KLA leader
Hashim Thaqi. During her visit in Kosovo, Secretary Albright urges
the Kosovar Serb population to stay in Kosovo and help create a
multi-ethnic society, stating that KFOR "is set up in order to protect
them." Secretary Albright states to Kosovo Albanians, "Democracy
cannot be built on revenge and you will lose the support of the
international community if you will not be tolerant and you take
the law in your hands." KFOR announces that three ethnic Albanians
have been detained for further investigation in connection to the
killing of 14 Serb farmers over the weekend.
- July 30: World leaders meet in Sarajevo at the Stability Pact
Summit. President Clinton announces during the summit that he will
work with Congress to provide $10 million this year and more over
the next 2 years to strengthen the independent media, non-governmental
organizations, independent trade unions, and the democratic opposition
in Serbia. Ibrahim Rugova returns to Kosovo.
- July 31: Russian KFOR troops briefly detain KLA General Agim
Ceku. As of July 31, UNHCR has delivered 13,000 tents in Kosovo;
tens of thousands of houses were damaged during the war.
- August 1: A bomb explodes in a Serbian Orthodox Church under
construction in Pristina. There are no casualties.
- August 2: The first repatriation flight from a non-neighboring
country arrives in Pristina carrying 150 refugees. UNHCR estimates
that there are approximately 155,000 Kosovar non-Albanian (mostly
Serb and Roma) internally displaced people in Serbia. The figure
includes about 3,000 refugees from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina
who have also left Kosovo. Another 23,000 non-Albanians from Kosovo
are now staying in Montenegro, according to UNHCR field staff reports.
UNHCR estimates that 743,300 refugees have returned to Kosovo as
of August 2. Students and teachers return to Pristina University.
- August 3: Human Rights Watch publishes a report on atrocities
against Serbs and Roma in Kosovo. Although the report stopped short
of accusing the KLA of specific atrocities, it suggested that the
KLA leadership "take swift and decisive action" to prevent further
atrocities.
- August 4: NATO names British Defense Secretary George Robertson
as its next Secretary-General. UNHCR estimates that nearly 90% of
the over 850,000 ethnic Albanians who fled Kosovo during the war
have returned to the Serbian province.
- August 5: Approximately 400 civilian police, including some
transferred from Bosnia, are on the ground in Kosovo. Over 100 additional
U.S. police depart for Kosovo.
- August 6: Ibrahim Rugova joins the Kosovo Transitional Council.
Department of State, Washington, DC, May 21, 1999
http://www.state.gov/www/regions/eur/fs_kosovo_timeline.html
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