Bela Crkva massacre
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Bela Crkva massacre (Albanian: Masakra e Bellacërkës) was the mass-killing of Kosovo Albanian villagers from Bellacërkë, Kosovo by Yugoslav armed forces on 24–25 March 1999.
Twelve hours after NATO had started bombing strategic Yugoslav targets, Yugoslav armed forces came to the area around Bela Crkva, fired artillery, and set fire to the village.
Villagers fled to the river bank and some hid under a bridge. Yugoslav forces found the villagers and divided them into two groups; men and women. ("Men" includes boys aged twelve and above). The men were stripped; their money, valuables, and documents taken; then they were executed. A smaller number of women were killed too. The youngest was four years old.
I was lucky. I was in front of the group.
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