Quick facts for kids Kosovo War |
Part of the Yugoslav Wars |
Clockwise from top-left: Yugoslav general staff headquarters damaged by NATO air strikes; a Zastava Koral buried under rubble caused by NATO air strikes; memorial to local KLA commanders; a USAF F-15E taking off from Aviano Air Base |
Date |
February 1998 – 11 June 1999
|
Location |
|
Result |
Kumanovo Treaty
- Yugoslav forces pull out of Kosovo
- United Nations Resolution 1244
- Return of Albanian refugees
- Expulsion of over half of the Serb and other non-Albanian civilians
- KLA veterans join the UÇPMB, starting the Preševo insurgency
- Bulldozer Revolution in 2000
|
Territorial
changes |
No legal changes to Yugoslav borders according to the Resolution 1244, but effective political and economic separation of Kosovo from Yugoslavia due to being placed under UN administration |
|
Belligerents |
KLA
|
Yugoslavia |
Commanders and leaders |
Adem Jashari †
Hashim Thaçi
Bilall Syla
Hamëz Jashari †
Sylejman Selimi
Ramush Haradinaj
Agim Çeku
Wesley Clark
Kudusi Lama |
Slobodan Milošević
Dragoljub Ojdanić
Nebojša Pavković
Vlastimir Đorđević
Vladimir Lazarević
Sreten Lukić |
Strength |
17,000–20,000 KLA insurgents
cca. 80 aircraft
(Operation Eagle Eye)
1,031 aircraft
(Operation Allied Force)
30+ warships and submarines |
85,000 soldiers (including 40,000 in and around Kosovo)
20,000 policemen
100 SAM sites
1,400 artillery pieces
(Both ground & air defence)
240 aircraft
2,032 armoured vehicles & tanks
Serbian paramilitary units (Šakali, Škorpioni), unknown number
Russian volunteers, unknown number |
Casualties and losses |
1,500 insurgents killed (per the KLA)
2,131 insurgents killed (per the HLC)
2 killed (non-combat) and 3 captured
2 aircraft shot down and 3 damaged
Two AH-64 Apaches and an AV-8B Harrier crashed (non-combat)
47 UAVs shot down
Possible unknown number of DGSE officers killed |
Caused by KLA:
300+ soldiers killed (per the Yugoslav military)
Caused by NATO:
1,008–1,200 killed
14 tanks, 18 APCs, 20 artillery pieces and 121 aircraft and helicopters destroyed
Caused by KLA and NATO:
1,084 killed (per the HLC) |
8,676 Kosovar Albanian civilians killed or missing
90% of Kosovar Albanians displaced during the war (848,000–863,000 expelled from Kosovo, 590,000 Kosovar Albanians displaced within Kosovo)
1,641–2,500 Serb and other non-Albanian civilians killed or missing (445 Roma and others)
230,000 Kosovo Serbs, Romani and other non-Albanian civilians displaced
/ Civilian deaths caused by NATO bombing: 489–528 (per Human Rights Watch) or 453–2,500 (per the HLC and Tanjug); also includes 3 Chinese journalists killed
13,548 civilians and fighters dead overall (Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Roma) |
The Kosovo War was a controversial war that took place from 1998 to 1999 in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Kosovo Liberation Army fought the Yugoslavian army from 1998 to 1999. In 1999 NATO bombed Yugoslavia to prevent genocide in Kosovo.
Notes
Related pages
Images for kids
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Clinton talks on the phone about the Kosovo War
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Equipment of 72nd Special Brigade Yugoslav Army in the 1999 Kosovo War
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US Marines march with local Albanian children down the main street of Zegra on 28 June 1999
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US soldiers escort a Serbian civilian from his home in Zitinje after finding an automatic weapon, 26 July 1999
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US soldiers maintain crowd control as Albanian residents of Vitina protest in the streets on 9 January 2000
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Kosovo Albanian refugees in 1999
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Destroyed tank near Prizren
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Refugee camp in Fier, Albania
See also
In Spanish: Guerra de Kosovo para niños