SRBICA

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Free
1.1.1. Escaped

ŠTIMLJE

1. Missing
2. Abducted

ŠTRPCE

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
1.2.1. Escaped

SUVA REKA

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1. Killed
1.3. Free
1.2.1. Released by the KLA

UROŠEVAC

1. Missing
3. Abducted
1.1. Free
1.1.1. Released by the KLA
1.1.2. Escaped

VITINA

1. Missing
2.Abducted
2.1. Killed
2.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA

VUČITRN (VUSHTRRI)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Free
1.1.1. Released by the KLA
1.1.1. Escaped

ZVEČAN

1. Missing
2. Abducted

SRBICA

1. Missing

Milosavljević, Dragan (M, 36), Serbian Serb, from Svilajnac – last seen on 12 May 1999 in Srbica.
Source: "OZNA" Detective Agency website

2. Abducted

Osmani, Balj (Osmani, Bal) (M), Rom, from Srbica (Cara Uroša St.) – abducted by the KLA on 26 April 1999.

Osmani’s neighbor recounted that two KLA members from Srbica, Ramadan Seferi and Farudin Tekaru, stormed into the Osmani house about 7 p.m. on 26 April. They put a wire around Osmani’s neck and started throttling him to force him to tell them where he kept the money sent by his sons who worked abroad. Osmani told them nothing and they took him to the KLA headquarters in Lauša (Llaushë), Srbica Municipality. His whereabouts remain unknown.
Source: HLC, witness statement

1.1. Free

1.1.1. Escaped

Miljačić, (first name unknown), Serb, deserter from the Yugoslav Army – captured by the KLA in May 1999.

KLA members tied Miljačić with wire and held him in the cellar of a private house in Srbica. He was able to escape when Yugoslav Army forces attacked Srbica.
Source: HLC, witness statement

ŠTIMLJE

1. Missing

Stolić, Mića (M, 19), Serb, from Donje Godance (Godanc i Ulët), Štimlje Municipality – disappeared on 17 June 1999.

A relative recounted that Albanian neighbors stole Stolić’s tractor on 17 June. One of them came back later and told Stolić to go with him to have his tractor returned. He went and was not seen again. A neighbor who accompanied him to get the tractor refused to speak with members of the Stolić family, who left the village immediately after Stolić’s disappearance.
Source: HLC, witness statement

(Last name unknown, maiden name Talić), Vera (F); her husband (last name unknown), Bora, Serbs from Štimlje – last seen on 10 July 1999. Vera’s parents, Mirko and Jovanka Talić, were killed in Štimlje the same day.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Blagojević, Mihailo (M, 55), Serb, from Mužičane (Muzeqinë), Štimlje Municipality – disappeared in late August 1999.

Friends said Blagojević was last seen walking home to Mužičane from Gračanica.
Source: HLC, witness statement

2. Abducted

Stolić, Slobodan (M, 55), Serb, from Štimlje (Devetačka St.), veterinary technician, employee of the veterinary station in Uroševac – abducted on 13 June 1999.

Stolić’s son related that the family left Štimlje on 12 June and moved to Čaglavica, a village in Priština municipality some 30 kilometers from Štimlje. His father returned to Štimlje the next day, saw his brother and went to his home to feed the pigs. Four armed KLA members in black uniforms entered the house, led Stolić out and into a black Mercedes without license plates and drove him away.
Staff at a retirement home near the Stolić house witnessed the abduction and immediately informed the family. His son came the next day. He found the front door open and his father’s key still in the lock. The house had been ransacked and some belongings of lesser value taken: camera, tape-recorder, shoes, slippers.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stoletović, Bora (58), Serb, from Štimlje, ambulance driver at the Štimlje Medical Center; Duši, Bahri (Dushi, Bahri) (M), Turk, from Priština, salesclerk at the Grmija department store in Priština – abducted by the KLA in Štimlje on 4 July 1999.

Members of the two families recounted that Stoletović accompanied Duši and his daughter on a visit to Duši’s relatives in Štimlje. A group of KLA members came to the relative’s house, searched it for weapons and found only an old trophy rifle. They said Stoletović and Duši had to go with them to their headquarters for questioning. Stoletović was driven away in a white Yugo while Duši, with two KLA men guarding him, drove his own white Zastava car. Both vehicles departed in the direction of Uroševac. The families reported the abductions to KFOR.
While the KLA men were searching the house, Duši’s daughter heard one of them addressed as Ramadan by the others. The families on several occasions inquired about Stoletović and Duši at the KLA headquarters in Uroševac and provided photographs of the two men, but to no avail.
Source: HLC, witness statement

ŠTRPCE

1. Missing

Dobrosavljević, Ljubiša (M, 49), bus conductor with the Polet-Uroševac bus company; Djordjević, Ratko (M, 41), driver with the Polet-Uroševac company, Serbs, from Popovci, Štrpce Municipality – disappeared on 2 May 1999 on the road between Partizanski Put, Kačanik Municipality, and Štrpce.

Dobrosavljević left for work at 5 a.m. on 2 May. When he did not return by 10 p.m., his son called a co-worker of his father’s who told him Dobrosavljević and Djordjević had bussed Yugoslav Army troops from Uroševac to Kruševac in Serbia. The co-worker last saw them at Partizanski Put in Kačanik Municipality as they were driving the empty bus (license plates UR 111-81) in the direction of Serb villages in Štrpce Municipality and they sounded the horn to greet him. All trace of the two men as well as the bus was lost.

The Dobrosavljević family reported his disappearance to KFOR. Two weeks later, a man who did not give his name called on the telephone. Dobrosavljević’s daughter answered, the man asked if she was the younger or elder daughter, said she should be good if she did not want to disappear like her father and hung up.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Andjelković, Živojin (M, 50); his son Andjelković, Ivan (26); their close family friend Živković, Vlastimir (M, 50), Serbs, from Gotovuša (Getovushë), Štrpce Municipality – disappeared on 21 July on the road from Štrpce to Vranje, Serbia.

A relative told the HLC that the three men were last seen about 3.30 p.m. on 21 July when they left for Vranje in their blue Zastava truck. They planned to join a convoy of trucks hauling construction materials from Serbia to the Bonsteel KFOR base. The Andjelkovićs had a large sum of money on them as they intended by goods to replenish Ivan Andjelković’s grocery store.

When the family called a brewery in Vranje, Serbia, where the Andjelkovićs were expected, they were told that the Andjelkovićs and Živković had not been there as planned. Mrs. Živković spoke with some KLA members in Štrpce who told her they knew nothing about the missing men. The KLA members checked their lists of alleged war criminals and informed Mrs. Živković that neither her husband nor the Andjelkovićs were on the lists, adding that this ruled out the possibility of their having being abducted for political reasons.
Source: HLC, witness statement

2. Abducted

Dogandžić, Dragan (M, 28), Serb, from Štrpce – abducted on 21 June 1999 on the road between Štrpce and Raka (Rakë) village, Uroševac Municipality.

Dogandžić’s parents recounted that their son left home in his dark red Zastava 128 (license plates UR 391-50) at 4 p.m. on 21 June to pick up some sheepherders who were still on the sheep farm in Raka village, 15 kilometers from Štrpce. On the way, he met a friend and told him he would be back in an hour or two. Another friend saw Dogandžić drive through Drajkovce (Drajkoc) village, Štrpce Municipality.

His parents went to Raka the next day with a KFOR escort to inquire about him. The farm manager Izet, and a worker called Halid told them they had not seen their son and that the sheepherders he was to pick up had left the previous day for Stari Kačanik. The parents saw some 20 KLA members on the farm. They went then to Stari Kačanik where the sheepherders told them they had not seen their son, and that Albanian co-workers had advised them to leave the farm as it was not safe for them to stay.

On 23 June, Captain Taylor of the US contingent with KFOR informed the parents that Dogandžić had been abducted by a group of KLA members led by Šuki Buja (Shuki Buja), commandant of the KLA prison in Uroševac, but could not say where he was being held. Two days later, on 25 June, he called again and said that KFOR would arrange for them to visit their son and suggested that the elder Dogandžić be the one to go. Capt. Taylor called again the next day, said Dogandžić would be upset by a visit from his father and advised that a priest come to see him instead. When, however, a priest went to the KFOR base the day after, Capt. Taylor told him he could not see Dogandžić.

A month later, Capt. Taylor notified the parents that their son would be tried for war crimes and that the proceedings could take several months. On this occasion, he said he knew where Dogandžić was being held but was not at liberty to disclose the location, and advised them to ask Albanian friends to try to arrange his release. The parents contacted an Albanian friend who learned that Dogandžić was at Firaja village, Štrpce Municipality, and that the trial had taken place and it was established that he had committed no crimes. There has been no word of him since.
Source: HLC, witness statement

1.1. Killed

Markočević, Božidar (M, 58), Serb, from Sušica, Štrpce Municipality, janitor at the Lahor children’s recreation center – last seen on 30 June 2000. His body was found by KFOR on 4 July in a woods.

Mrs. Markočević said her husband took his cows and goats to pasture in an outlying meadow called Vršara in the morning of 30 June. The closest Albanian village, Kaštanjevo (Koshtanjevë), is located four kilometers from the meadow. When her husband failed to return in the evening, she reported his disappearance to KFOR.

Two days later, KFOR members found Markočević’s shoe and bag in a woods near the meadow and, on 4 July, some 300 meters farther away, his body with two gunshot wounds in the head. His 30 cows and 19 goats were not found.
Source: HLC, witness statement

1.2. Free

1.2.1. Escaped

M.J. (M, 16), Serb, from Sušica, Štrpce Municipality – abducted by four armed and uniformed Albanians on 2 July. He managed to escape when a KFOR patrol appeared.

M.J. recounted that he took the family’s livestock to pasture in a nearby meadow just before 10 a.m. on 2 July. Four armed Albanians, one in black and three in camouflage uniforms without insignia, came up to him between 10 and 11 a.m. All four were masked and one had a walkie-talkie. M.J. described what happened:

“They asked in Serbian from which village I was and my age. I answered them and they knocked me down and kicked me in the head two or three times. I got up and they tied my hands and gagged me. We set off toward the Albanian village Jezerce. We had been walking for about two hours when I heard a Polish KFOR patrol coming. I broke away from the Albanians and started running to my village. The Polish soldiers were only about 20 meters from us so the Albanians didn’t dare fire after me.”
Source: HLC, witness statement

SUVA REKA

1. Missing

Staletović, Slobodan (M, 50), Serb, from Popovljane (Papalan), Suva Reka Municipality – last seen on 4 April 1999.
Source: Persons missing in relation to the events in Kosovo from January 1998, ICRC

Ozegović, Aleksandar (M, 26), Serbian Serb, from Belgrade – last seen on 14 April 1999 in Belanica (Bellanicë), Suva Reka Municipality.
Source: "OZNA" Detective Agency website

Ozegović, Milan (M, 29), Serb, from Blace, Suva Reka Municipality – last seen on 19 April 1999 in Belanica, Suva Reka Municipality.
Source: "OZNA" Detective Agency website

Mihailović, Predrag (M), Serb – last seen on 19 April 1999 in Belanica, Suva Reka Municipality.
Source: "OZNA" Detective Agency website

Jovanović, Jovan (M, 71), Serb, from Lešane, Suva Reka Municipality – disappeared on 11 June 1999.
Source: Persons missing in relation to the events in Kosovo from January 1998, ICRC

Karanović, Duško (M, 43), municipal court judge; his wife Karanović, Snježana (34), economist, Serbs from Suva Reka – disappeared on 13 June 1999 in Suva Reka.

The Karanovićs fled Suva Reka on 10 June and were placed in a refugee center in Belgrade. On 11 June, Karanović was instructed by the Serbian Deputy Minister of Justice to return and left Belgrade with his wife at 11 a.m. on 12 June in a yellow Fiat 125 car. They were seen by a friend at Merdare on the boundary with Kosovo.

A neighbor of the Karanovićs who was interviewed by the HLC stated that she last saw them when they arrived in their apartment in the afternoon of 13 June. KLA members stormed into the neighbor’s home the next day and told her all Serbs in the Karanovićs’ building had been killed during the night.
Another neighbor told the family she had seen the bodies of Karanović and his wife not far from their building and that they had been shot to death.
The family heard that many Suva Reka Serbs were killed on 13 and 14 June, that their bodies lay in the streets until they were collected by the KLA and covered up with earth by bulldozers.
Source: HLC, witness statements

Nikolić, Miodrag (M, 42), from Niška Banja, electrician; Ivković, Predrag (40), from Niš, machinist; Marković, I. Zoran (22), from Džepnica near Blace; Bojić, Dragoljub (44), all Serbian Serbs, Yugoslav Army reservists – disappeared on 13 June 1999 near Suva Reka.

Ivković’s father told the HLC his son and a group of reservists arrived in Niš from Kosovo with military equipment on the night of 11/12 June 1999. Ivković came to see his parents and returned to barracks about 9 a.m. on 12 June.

At 3 p.m. the next day, Ivković left Niš for Suva Reka in a column of six vehicles. He and Nikolić were in a Raba semi-trailer (license plates DJ 330-11), and Marković and Bojić in a blue Mercedes truck. The column was ambushed by the KLA near the Balkan Hotel in Suva Reka. Fighting broke out, during which the reservists disappeared.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Jovanović, Ivica (M, 36), from Pančevo; Rašović, Dragiša (M, 31), from Gornji Stepoš, Kruševac Municipality, Serbian Serbs, Yugoslav Army reservists – disappeared on 13 June outside Suva Reka.

Jovanović’s father stated that the 3rd Army Command informed the families about the circumstances in which Jovanović and Rašović went missing as follows:
Yugoslav Army troops were on 13 June transporting damaged military hardware from Gnjilane, Suva Reka, Prizren, Djakovica and Peć to Serbia. Jovanović and Rašović were driving two flatbed trailers. Lt Vlada Panić and Djura Kornov, a reserve driver, were with them, and Lt Dejan Vuković and seven soldiers were the security detachment.

They completed their assignment and were returning when they were ambushed by the KLA just outside Suva Reka about 6 p.m. Lt Panić and Korunov were wounded in the ensuing fighting but were able, together with six soldiers from the security detachment’s FAP truck, to pull out to a nearby village. Later that night, about 11 p.m. they went back and managed to extract the wounded Igor Smiljković from the FAP truck and have him transferred to the Prizren hospital.
The next morning, the Yugoslav Army officer in charge of security in the area requested a KFOR escort for a unit to evacuate Jovanović and Rašović and the flatbeds. The request was denied on the grounds that KFOR could not guarantee the safety of the soldiers.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Bijelić, Mirko (M, 20), Serbian Serb, from Bačka Palanka, Yugoslav Army member – disappeared on 13 June 1999 near Suva Reka.

Bijelić’s father stated that his son and other soldiers were transporting military hardware from Prizren to Leskovac in Serbia. Their column was ambushed by the KLA near Suva Reka.

Bijelić’s commanding officer, Janko Popović, informed the family that the KLA immediately killed all those taken, and that Bijelić’s body was found and buried in Prizren on 29 June 1999.

When the families attempted to claim their sons’ remains, the military authorities informed them that the bodies had not been recovered and that the identifications were based only on the boots and military identification tags found on the scene.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Burdžić, Dragan (M, 39), driver with the Medical Center in Prizren; Bucalo, Dragan (M, 43), driver, Serbs, from Prizren; all Yugoslav Army reservists – disappeared on 13 June 1999 between Suva Reka and Koriša, Prizren Municipality.

Mrs. Burdžić recounted that her husband had driven a truck loaded with military equipment to Serbia. He was returning in a column of five military vehicles, three of which managed to join a KFOR column and reach Prizren. The remaining two trucks, in which Burdžić, Bucalo, B.M. (M), Muslim, from Grnčare, Prizren Municipality, Yugoslav Army reservist and another soldier were travelling, fell somewhat behind and were attacked by the KLA near Suva Reka about 4 p.m. The soldier was killed and his body was found a few days later on the road at the location of the attack. Only B.M. managed to escape, but he declined to say anything about the incident.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Marković, Novica (M); his brother Marković, Mirko; Jovanović, Božidar (M, 51), retired; Živanović, Svetlana (F, 45); Nikolić, Marko (M, 79); Nikolić, Cveta (F, 74), Serbs, from Mušutište, Suva Reka Municipality – last seen on 15 June 1999 in Mušutište.

The majority of villagers left Mušutište immediately after the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian police from Kosovo, and only 25, mostly elderly, stayed in their homes. Since the village had no telephones, their families were unable to contact them. The local priest, Father Ilija, told the families he was in the village on 15 June when he saw and spoke with the Serbs from Mušutište for the last time.

When the village was occupied by the KLA a few days later, the priest could no longer visit it. He spoke, however, with persons who subsequently passed through Mušutište and told him it was uninhabited.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Crevar, Dušan (M, 31), Serb, - last seen on 20 June 1999 in Suva Reka.
Source: Persons missing in relation to the events in Kosovo from January 1998, ICRC

Beriša, Afrim (Berisha, Afrim) (M, 30), Rom, from Suva Reka – disappeared on 30 June 1999.
Source: Roma From Kosovo Testify, ERRC, 2 August 1999

Popović, Dragan (M, 30), Serb, from Pećka Banja, Peć Municipality – last seen in June 1999 in Dvorane, Suva Reka Municipality.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Tomić, Ivo (M, 52); his son Tomić (first name unknown) (18), Serbian Serbs, from Negotin – disappeared on 18 August 1999 between Dulje (Duhël), Suva Reka Municipality, and Prizren.
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [11 Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999

Stojkov, Atanasije (M, 62); his son-in-law Andjelković, Dejan (29), Serbian Serbs, from Vranje – disappeared on 22 August between Suva Reka and Priština.
Stojkov and Andjelković were last seen in Suva Reka where they unloaded a delivery of humanitarian aid and set off in the direction of Priština.
Source: Od dolaska KFOR-a kidnapovano 645 civila [645 Civilians Kidnapped Since KFOR’s Arrival], POLITIKA, 22 October 1999

Nedeljković, Ljubiša (M, 43); his wife Nedeljković, Leposava (47), Serbs, from Suva Reka (3 Devet Jugovića St.) – disappeared in the summer of 1999 in Suva Reka.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

2. Abducted

Stanković, Todor (M, 52), trucker; Trajković, Dejan (29), driver with the Proleće hotel company, Serbian Serbs, from Bujanovac (Železnička St.) – abducted on 13 June 1999 in Suva Reka.

Stanković was hired by R.M. from Djakovica to transport his belongings to Bujanovac in Serbia, and asked Trajković to accompany him. They left Bujanovac at 12.30 p.m. on 13 June in Stanković’s Mercedes truck (license plates VR 498-19) with the logo “TAXI 120-Stanković Todor” on the door panel. R.M. described what happened:

“When we reached Štimlje, we decided to go to Prizren to ask if the road to Djakovica was safe. A tanker and semi-trailer were in front of us on the road. We passed Crnovlje and Dulje villages and, at the entrance to Suva Reka, I noticed four or five KLA members in black uniforms on the right side of the road, near the houses. Not long after that, there was the sound of a loud blast. The semi, about 100 meters ahead of us, burst into flames and some people pulled an injured man out of it. Then long bursts of shots came at the semi.

“The three of us got out of the truck and went into a small street in which there were some small children and an elderly Albanian who offered to help us. I had a TT 7.62 pistol and the Albanian insisted that I get rid of it right away. I told Todor and Dejan that we should start running but they didn’t agree because I was carrying papers showing I was a police reservist. I went down the street to see where it led and then went back to tell Todor and Dejan to come with me. They were with the Albanian, standing at the gate of a yard. They went into the yard and the Albanian told the children playing in the street to go and call the KLA and closed the gate.

“I ran to the main road where I saw a truck with Djakovica plates. I went up to it and, hearing Albanian music, realized that there were Albanians in it and went to ground in some bushes. I heard gunfire all the time. I reached a barn and hid inside it. I tore up and buried all my papers – I had thrown the pistol away before. I heard some men speaking Albanian outside the barn. When they left, I decided to walk to Štimlje. I ran into a Yugoslav Army unit in the woods at Dulje. I gave myself up and they tied me up right away but untied me as soon as I explained who I was. I spent the night with them in the woods and in the morning KFOR escorted us all to Prizren. Todor’s truck wasn’t there any more when we passed through Suva Reka but I saw KLA members by the road. We reached Prizren about noon on 14 June.”

R.M. spent the night at the Yugoslav Army Cultural Center in Prizren and returned to Serbia with the troops the next day at 6 a.m.
Source: HLC, witness statement

2.1. Killed

Krehić, Raza (F, 54), Muslim, from Suva Reka, post office employee – abducted by the KLA on 14 June 1999 and killed shortly afterwards.⁴⁰
Source: HLC, witness statement

⁴⁰  Witness statement on the abduction and killing of these persons: Suva Reka, 2.2.1. Released by the KLA.
 

Jovanović, Radisav (M); Mitić, Jovana (F); her husband Mitić, Boža; their relative Mitić, Stanislav (M); Božović, Svetlana (F); her three-year-old child, Serbs, from Mušutište, Suva Reka Municipality – abducted by the KLA on 15 June 1999 and killed shortly afterwards.⁴¹
Source: HLC, witness statement

⁴¹  Witness statement on the abduction and killing of Raza Krehić: Suva Reka, 2.2.1. Released by the KLA.
 
 

1.3. Free

1.2.1. Released by the KLA

Jovanović, Tonku (F, 84), Serb, from Mušutište, Suva Reka Municipality – abducted by the KLA on 13 June and released.

Mrs. Jovanović ’s grandson related that his grandmother told him she was abducted by members of the KLA who burned her son alive in his house, killed her daughter Jovana Mitić, her husband Boža, and brother-in-law Stanislav Mitić, as well as Svetlana Božović and her three-year-old child, all Serbs from Mušutište.

In early January 2000, KFOR transferred M.T. to the Serbian Orthodox seminary from where she fled to Serbia.
Source: HLC, witness statement

P.V. (F, 59); G.K. (F, 75), Serbs, retired, from Suva Reka – taken by the KLA on 17 June 1999 and released the next day. Raza Krehić (F, 54), Muslim, from Suva Reka, with whom they shared an apartment, was abducted by the KLA on 14 June 1999 and killed.

P.V. told the HLC that she, G.K. and Raza Krehić, a Muslim woman, moved into an abandoned Albanian apartment in their building on 13 June following the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian police from Kosovo. They believed they would thus avoid the KLA attacks on Serb apartments until KFOR troops arrive to ensure their safety.

KLA members stormed into the apartment the same day, searched it for weapons and threatened to kill the three women unless they moved out of Kosovo. The next day, 14 June, three KLA men came at 12.30 p.m. and took away Raza Krehić, saying she would be returned shortly. The men returned at 2.30 p.m. and told P.V. and G.K. they had slit Raza Krehić’s throat. They came for the third time at 12.30 p.m. on 17 June and led away P.V. and G.K. P.V. described what happened then:

“They took us to what used to be the police station. They asked where my sons where, if I had any weapons, if I knew somebody in Serbia who worked for the State Security Service, if I knew the whereabouts of an Albanian they thought was a Serbian spy. They began to beat us. The soldier who questioned and beat us was wearing black pants and a black shirt with a KLA badge on the sleeve. He hit me so hard that I fell off the chair. For a time I couldn’t hear anything he said because he kept hitting me hard on the head and ear. I had to read his lips to understand what he was saying. He pulled my hair, pushed the barrel of his pistol in my mouth. He said over and over that I was going to die now.”

After some time, P.V. and G.K. were released on condition that they moved out of Kosovo. The KLA commander, Sabit Gaši (Sabit Gashi), wrote them a safe passage to leave Suva Reka.

P.V. and G.K. fled Kosovo to Serbia immediately after their release.
Source: HLC, witness statement

UROŠEVAC

1. Missing

Stojčetović, Djordje (M, 44), Serb, from Štrpce – last seen at the railway station in Uroševac on 18 May 1999 from where he planned to leave for Macedonia.

Marko Stojčetović recounted that his brother boarded a bus for Skopje, Macedonia, about 6 a.m. on 18 May. He was turned back at the border by Macedonian police because his passport had expired and returned to Uroševac from where he planned to try to cross the border, this time by train. He met a friend at the railway station and asked her to take a carton of cigarettes to his father. Another friend saw him there somewhat later, about 10 p.m.

Since Stojčetović was not in the habit of telling his family when he traveled, his brother heard about his disappearance two weeks later when the friends in Macedonia he was to visit called and asked about him. Marko Stojčetović reported his brother’s disappearance to KFOR and the Red Cross.
Source: HLC, witness statement.

Kolarević (or Kolčetović), Novak (M); Kolarević (or Kolčetović) Zorka (F), Serbs, from Gatnja, Uroševac Municipality – disappeared after 14 June 1999 in the Uroševac area.
Source: U selu Gotiva oteta porodica Jokić [Jokić Family Kidnapped in Gotiva Village], BLIC, 19 June 1999; Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 5 July 1999

Dabić, Milosav (M); Dabić, Radmila (F), Serbs, from Nerodimlje (Nerodimje), Uroševac Municipality – disappeared after 14 June 1999 in the Uroševac area.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 5 July 1999; OVK otima, KFOR oslobadja [KLA Abducts, KFOR Releases], BLIC, 20 June 1999

Kocić, Stanislav (M); Marković, Desimir (M); Stolić, Nebojša (M), Serbs – disappeared in Varoš (Varosh), Uroševac Municipality, after 14 June 1999.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 5 July 1999

(Last name unknown), Ilija (M), Serb – disappeared in Zaskok (Zaskoc), Uroševac Municipality, after 14 June 1999.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 5 July 1999

Čungurović, Stanko (M, 50), Serb, from Uroševac (Cara Uroša St.), retired police officer – last seen on 15 June 1999.

At about noon on 15 June, a neighbor saw Čungurović arguing with an Albanian in Cara Uroša Street. A woman was trying to calm them down. Other Albanians gathered around and began to shout. Fearing that the incident could escalate, the neighbor went to an office building in the same street to call KFOR but no one answered the phone. Ten minutes later, he left the building and saw that Čungurović was no longer in the street. Later that day, he spoke to a relative on Čungurović who confirmed that he had not returned after leaving his home that day.
Source: HLC, witness statement.

Milivojević, Srdjan (M, 27), Serb – last seen at 12.30 p.m. on 18 June 1999 in Kamena Glava (Komogllavë), Uroševac Municipality.
Source: "OZNA" Detective Agency website

Djordjević, Perica (M, 31), Serb, from Uroševac – last seen on 23 June 1999.
Source: Persons missing in relation to the events in Kosovo from January 1998, ICRC

Trajković, Dragan (M), Serb – disappeared during June 1999 in Uroševac.
Source: List of Serbs Kidnapped in Kosovo and Metohija (June-August), KOSOVO.COM

Dejanović, Živka (F), Serb – disappeared in the first half of July 1999 in Muhadžer Talinovac (Talinoc i Muhaxhërve), Uroševac Municipality.
Source: Terror Continues in Kosovo, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 16 July 1999

Šabani, Ekrem (Shabani, Ekrem) (M, 48), Rom, from Uroševac – last seen at 4 p.m. on 12 October 1999 in his yard (17 Šefki Hajdini (Shefki Hajdini) St.)).
Source: "OZNA" Detective Agency website

3. Abducted

Vuksanović, Mile (M, 60), Serb, from Priština, engineer, acting director of the Public Health Office in Priština; Dj.Lj. (M), Albanian, from Priština – abducted on 2 April 1999 at Trn, Uroševac Municipality. Dj.Lj. was subsequently released.

Mrs. Vuksanović said her husband traveled to Uroševac on 2 April in a white Zastava car with the Red Cross emblem to test the quality of the Uroševac water supply. He was accompanied by an Albanian friend, Dj.Lj., who planned to fetch his wife and children from Trn village. A KLA patrol stopped them just outside Trn, found three pistols in the trunk of the car and took them away. Dj.Lj. was
subsequently released.

Mrs. Vuksanović heard later from Albanian friends that one Miljezim, a shopkeeper in Trn, was a member of the KLA patrol and that he took the weapons seized from her husband.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Zabunović, Aleksandar (M, 68), retired; his wife Zabunović, Kruna (66), Serbs, from Uroševac – abducted on 15 June 1999 in Uroševac.

Unidentified men took Aleksandar Zabunović in the afternoon of 15 June and drove him away in a red Yugo car. Mrs. Zabunović returned home soon afterwards and, half an hour later, the same men came back and abducted her too. A neighbor saw them driving her away in a white car.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Kotarević, Sreta (M, 47), Serb, from Gatnje, Uroševac Municipality, judge in Uroševac – abducted on 17 June 1999.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Obradović, Miodrag (M, 52), Serb, from Srpski Babuš, Uroševac Municipality, teacher at the Jedinstvo elementary school – abducted on 18 June 1999.⁴²
Source: HLC, witness statement

⁴²  Witness statement on the abduction of Obradović: Uroševac, 2.1.1. Escaped.
 

Djordjević, Milorad (M, 56), Serb, from Donje Nerodimlje (Nerodimje e Ulët), Uroševac Municipality – taken by the KLA on 19 June 1999, questioned and released a few hours later. KLA members returned and abducted Djordjević and his brother, Miloš Djordjević (58), at 11 p.m. that night.

At about noon on 19 June, two KLA members took Milorad Djordjević from his home to the KLA headquarters in Baliće (Beliqë) village, Uroševac Municipality. As they led him into the headquarters, located in a fruit storage facility, he saw another two KLA men taking Dinko Parlić, out of the building.⁴³

⁴³  Witness statement on the abduction of Parlić: Uroševac, 2. Abducted.
 

Djordjević was questioned by the KLA commander, Sadiku, and another five men, all wearing camouflage uniforms with KLA badges. He was asked who had torched the homes of two Albanian villagers, where his three sons did their military service, how many Albanians they had killed, how many houses they had burned, and constantly punched in the back, stomach and head. After two hours, two KLA men took him home in a yellow Zastava car which had been seized earlier by other KLA members from Svetozar Milić, a Serb from Donje Nerodimlje.

About 11 p.m. that night, five KLA members, among whom the HLC witness recognized Meti Moljaku (Meti Molaku), their commander, and one Hadžiemin (Haxhidemin) from Manastirce village, came to the Djordjević home again. All five were armed with automatic rifles, had knives in their belts and wore camouflage uniforms with KLA badges on their left sleeves and caps.

The KLA men demanded that Miloš and Milorad Djordjević hand over to them a machine-gun, hand grenades and a mortar. When they said they had turned over their weapons to KFOR, the KLA men took them to their headquarters in Baliće to be questioned by commander Sadiku. The brothers were pushed into the same car in which Milorad Djordjević was returned home earlier that day. There was no room in the car for Moljaku and Hadžiemin, who left on foot.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Dejanović, Čeda (M); Dančetović, Božidar (M); unidentified man, Serbs, from Srpski Babuš, Uroševac Municipality – abducted in their village by Albanian civilians.
Source: HLC, witness statement; Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 5 July 1999; OVK otima, KFOR oslobadja [KLA Abducts, KFOR Releases], BLIC, 20 June 1999

Stojković, Milan (M, 85); his wife Stojković, Danica (78), Serbs, from Uroševac (4 Miladina Popovića St.) – abducted after 20 June 1999.

Their daughter-in-law stated that the elderly couple were taken from their apartment by Albanian civilians.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Djordjević, Ljubomir (M); his wife Djordjević, Rada; their children Sanja and Goran, Serbs, from the vicinity of Uroševac – abducted by the KLA in Uroševac on 22 June 1999.
Source: Državljani Albanije stižu u Prištinu [Albanian Nationals Arriving in Priština], BLIC, 24 June 1999; Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 5 July 1999

Parlić, Dinko (M, 49), Serb, from Donje Nerodimlje, Uroševac Municipality, employee of motor oil refinery in Uroševac – abducted on 25 June 1999.

Parlić’s cousin related that non-Albanian villagers began to leave Nerodimlje on 17 June. Dinko Parlić decided to stay. Between 4 and 5 p.m. on 23 June, KLA members came to his home and took him to their headquarters in Baliće village for questioning. He was asked if he had weapons, where he was during the war, if he had killed Albanians and torched their homes. He was released at 7 p.m. and, on his way home, was attacked and severely beaten by four Albanian boys of about 14 or 15 years of age.

KLA members came to his home again the next day and took him to the headquarters for more questioning. He was released several hours later, waylaid by the same boys who took him into an abandoned Serb house and beat him up again.

Parlić was taken to the KLA headquarters for the third time on 25 June and did not return. His family fled to Serbia following his disappearance.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Tasić, Ljubinka (F); Tasić, Miodrag (M), Serbs, from Uroševac – abducted in the second half of June 1999 by unidentified persons from a refugee column making its way from Uroševac to Serbia.
Source: List of Serbs Kidnapped in Kosovo and Metohija (June-August), KOSOVO.COM

Šabić, Milan (M, 65), Serb, from Gornje Nerodimlje (Nerodimje e Epërme), Uroševac Municipality, resided in Priština, railway worker; four or five unidentified eldely men, Serbs, from Gornje Nerodimlje – abducted on 2 July 1999 in Gornje Nerodimlje.

Šabić’s son said his father moved from Priština to his house in Gornje Nerodimlje on 25 June while he and his family fled Kosovo to Serbia. Villagers later told the family that Šabić was in a neighbor’s house with another four or five elderly Serbs on 2 July when a group of KLA members came and took them away. Šabić was first taken to his house and the KLA men tried to force him to set it on fire. He refused, they torched the house themselves and led him away. One of the elderly Serbs, Mile (last name unknown), called “Šumar,” was wounded by the KLA men during the abduction and left on the road to bleed to death.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Grković, Jova (M, 50), Serb, from Uroševac – abducted from his home by unidentified persons on 5 July 1999.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stojanović Marko (M, 52), former elementary school principal; Živković, Paun (M, 51), former secondary school principal – abducted on 28 September 1999 in Uroševac.

The HLC’s witness recounted that Stojanović, Živković and four other Serb teachers came to Uroševac from Štrpce with a KFOR escort to pick up the school records and papers of Serb students and teachers. They went first to the Technical and Economics Schools and, about noon, to the elementary school. One of the teachers asked the KFOR members to take her to Duganjevo village to check up on her house. They agreed and the four teachers left while Stojanović and Živković remained in the school to finish their business as the Albanian principal had guaranteed their safety. When the teachers and KFOR members returned, the principal told them an Albanian in a black uniform had come and taken Stojanović and Živković.
Source: HLC, witness statement

1.1. Free

1.1.1. Released by the KLA

S.T. (M, 41), Serb, from Uroševac, post office employee – abducted by the KLA on 14 June 1999, held in a KLA prison in Gajre, Kačanik Municipality, until 17 June 1999 and released.

S.T. described what happened when two KLA members abducted him on 14 June as he was returning home after buying gasoline:

“I noticed two KLA members following me. A jeep came from the opposite direction and swerved to a halt, blocking the road. Two KLA soldiers got out, one pointed his pistols at me and ordered me into their vehicle. They drove me to Varoš (Varosh), a village two kilometers from Uroševac, and led me into the schoolhouse. There were six soldiers in black there. The KLA members who had kidnapped me asked for one of the commanding officers. One of the soldiers said the man they wanted wasn’t there and we went to Kamena Glava, Uroševac Municipality. On the way they asked if I had been in the Serbian forces and if I had killed anyone. They didn’t find the man they wanted in Kamena Glava either so we went to Gajre in Kačanik Municipality.

“The village had been abandoned. The KLA men took me into the last room in a half-ruined house. There was a pile of straw in one corner; someone had obviously been there before me. I saw six to eight KLA members in the house. All were young, between 18 and 25, unshaved, armed and in camouflage uniforms. A KLA commander who was not in uniform questioned me. Unlike the others, he was polite and even offered me a cigarette. He left when we finished talking. I don’t know if he gave a signal to the others but, as soon as he left, four of them began to beat me. They kicked and punched me and kept asking questions without waiting for me to answer. They asked how many Albanians I had killed, how many Albanian houses I had set on fire and robbed. They hit me on the head with a pistol and kicked me in the shinbone with their booted feet. They left after 15 minutes.

“I was locked in that room for two more days, 15 and 16 June. The beating was repeated over and over again. A KLA member I knew from before came in the morning of 17 June. He gave me a furtive sign and said to his people that he would take me to their command post. I got into his car about 9 a.m. He drove me to the overpass in Uroševac and said, ‘I know you haven’t done anything but perhaps I was harassed like that too. I don’t know how things will turn out but you had better leave.’”

S.T. and his family fled Kosovo to Montenegro a few days later.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Ristić, Dragan (M); his neighbor (Last name unknown) Marija (F), Serbs, from Srpski Babuš, Uroševac Municipality – abducted around 14 June 1999 in the Uroševac areas, taken to the local KLA headquarters, beaten and released.
Source: HLC, witness statement

M.S. (M, 31), Serb, from Zaskok, Uroševac Municipality – abducted on 15 June 1999, held for two days, questioned and beaten, and released.

Eight KLA members stormed into M.S.’s yard about 11 p.m. on 15 June and said they were going to search the house for weapons. During the search, they verbally abused the family and told them to leave for Serbia. They searched for an hour, took all the money they found and struck M.S.’s father. They grabbed M.S. by the arms, pushed him into a car and drove him away. M.S. recounted what happened next:

“They took me to a private house in Šerete (Sheret) village near Uroševac. They tied my hands behind my back and locked me in the bathroom. Six KLA soldiers took turns to beat me with nightsticks. They held a knife to my throat, cocked a pistol and put it against my forehead, insulted me and threatened all the time to kill me. I thought death would be better than the torment they were putting me through. I don’t know how long it was before an Albanian I knew by sight from Uroševac came in. He just looked at me. I don’t know if he recognized me and said something to the men who were beating me, but when he left they didn’t beat me any more that night.

“He came again the next day and, when he left, they gave me something to eat for the first time. An hour later, two KLA men grabbed me – I was still tied up – and led me outside. I thought they were taking me out to be shot. They put me in a car and drove me to a headquarters in a house on the Plešenski road near Uroševac. They didn’t beat me there, just questioned me about where I had been during the bombing, if I had looted Albanian houses. They kept insulting me, saying we Serbs were garbage and should all be liquidated. I repeated that I was called up, that I wasn’t in any mopping up operations, that the Albanians in my village were there all during the war and nobody touched them.

“There were KLA officers at this headquarters. They filmed the questioning. One of them said they would let me go but that I had to work for them, disarm the village. After the questioning, they took me to a car and ordered me to get in the trunk. Again I thought they were going to shoot me. I heard the car start and after a time it stopped, they opened the trunk and I saw they had brought me to my house. They ordered me out. I climbed out and they got in the car and left.”
M.S. found the house empty as his family had already fled the village. He joined a group of Uroševac Serbs who were leaving the town under KFOR escort. He fled to Serbia where he now lives with his family.
Source: HLC, witness statement

P. (first name unknown) (M), Serb, from Uroševac, judge – abducted by the KLA in June 1999, released 10 days later through the intercession of Albanian friends.

A friend of P. stated that he was stopped in the street by KLA members who placed a sack over his head, threw him into the trunk of a car and drove him away. He was locked in an empty room with only animal skins on the floor. The KLA members threw knives at him, gave him a bowl of soup with a mouse in it to eat, psychologically abused him but did not beat him. Albanian friends interceded and P. was released 10 days later. A sack was again placed over his head, he was pushed into the trunk of a car and thrown out in front of his house.
Source: HLC, witness statement

1.1.2. Escaped

S.B.(M); Obradović, Miodrag (M, 52), teacher at the Jedinstvo elementary school, Serbs, from Srpski Babuš, Uroševac Municipality – abducted on 18 June 1999. S.B. escaped; the whereabouts of Obradović remain unknown.

Mrs. Obradović related that S.B. went to see a friend and arrived when KLA members were searching the friend’s house. The KLA men then took S.B. back to his house, searched it for weapons and, taking S.B., went to the Obradović house where they tied up her husband and S.B. and beat them. After a time, they led them both in the direction of the Nerodimka River, which runs between Srpski Babuš and Muhadži Babuš (Muhaxhërve Babush) villages. Near the river, S.B. managed to escape. As he ran away, he saw an expensive car drive up. The bound Obradović was pushed into the car and driven away.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Z.G. (18), Rom, from Uroševac (25 Maja St.) – abducted in late June 1999, held in the house of a KLA member for one day and set free by an elderly Albanian woman.

Z.G. stated that he was in an Uroševac cafe with his brother when six KLA members came up to them: Becar, Feta and four known locally as “Kozanci.” All were in uniform and armed with pistols and knives. Z.G.’s brother was able to get away while Z.G. was taken to Becar’s house. He described what happened there:

“They demanded that I give them the names of people I had killed, what I stole and everything else I did. I said I hadn’t been mixed up in anything like that. They tied me to a chair and hit me with baseball bats. First they hit me on my right ankle, then in the stomach. They demanded the names of Serbs and Roma who did such things. I didn’t know what to do so I gave them the names of people who lived abroad or had already moved out. Then they left. An old Albanian woman came, untied the ropes and said, ‘Son, I know you’re feeling poorly. You saved my son so run now, and good luck to you.’ I ran to the Serb cemetery and from there to the railway station where the Serbs were staying.”
Z.G. fled Kosovo to Serbia four days later.
Source: HLC, witness statement

VITINA

1. Missing

Petrović, Dragan “Laki” (M, 35), Serb, from Vitina, psychiatric patient – disappeared on 14 June 1999 soon after leaving him home.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Jacić, Kosta (M, 56), Serb, from Vitina – last seen on 17 July 1999.
Source: Persons missing in relation to the events in Kosovo from January 1998, ICRC

Mladenović, Stojance (M, 64); his wife Mladenović, Zorica (65), Serbs, from Novo Selo (Novosellë), Vitina Municipality – disappeared on 19 June 1999 on the road to Novo Selo.

Friends of the couple recounted that the Mladenovićs fled Kosovo to Serbia on 16 June 1999. Their daughter remained in the village and they returned for her on 19 June. They were last seen near Požaranje (Pozharan) on the road to Novo Selo. Their daughter had in the meantime been transferred to Serbia by KFOR and does not know what happened to her parents.
Source: HLC, witness statement

2.Abducted

2.1. Killed

Stojković, Radomir (M, 65), Serb, from Klokot, Vitina Municipality – last seen alive on 23 July 1999.

Neighbors saw Stojković working in his field on 23 July. His body, bearing signs of violence, was found by KFOR in a stream at Požaranje village, Gnjilane Municipality, on 28 September 1999.
Source: HLC; witness statement

2.2. Free

2.2.1. Released by the KLA

Stanimirović, Stojadin (M, 45), Serb, from Novo Selo, Vitina Municipality, elementary school principal, lieutenant in the reserve, called up during the war; Stanimirović, Tihomir (M, 53); Serb, from Novo Selo, elementary school principal in Tankosić (Tankosiq), called up during the war; Mladenović, Slaviša (M, 26), Serb, from Novo Selo, police officer; Djordjević, Žarko (M, 37), Serb, from Čerkez Sadovine (Sadovine e Cerkezev), Vitina Municipality, electrician; his son Djordjević, Aleksandar (14); Andjelković, Predrag “Pepe” (M, 27), Serb, from Gušice (Gushice), Vitina Municipality; Kojić, Srdjan (M, 23), Serb, from Vrban (Urban), Vitina Municipality; last name unknown, Srdjan (M, 23), Serb, from Klokot, Vitina Municipality; Novićević, Suzan (M, 20), from Vitina; last name unknown, Milan (M, 30), Bosnian Serb, refugee – imprisoned by the KLA in Vrbane village, five held for two days and five for seven days.

Slaviša Mladenović was taken on 16 June and released on 17 June on the grounds that the KLA was not allowed to hold persons in uniform for more than 24 hours. He was questioned and beaten to make him confess to looting Albanian property. Predrag Andjelković was released after his father paid a ransom of 100,000, which he allegedly earned by driving Kosovo Albanians to neighboring Albania. Aleksandar Djordjević was released after two days. He too was beaten because, his captors claimed, they had not known he was a minor. Srdjan Kojić and Srdjan (last name unknown) were held for two days, severely beaten and released.

The remaining five were held from 15 to 21 June. Stojadin Stanimirović was questioned about the killing of Rustem Zećiri (Rustem Zeqiri) and had two ribs broken during the severe beatings he was subjected to. When they released him, the KLA told him that he had been taken “by mistake.” His relative Tihomir Stanimirović was questioned about the murder of Šaban Topali (Shaban Topalli) and his nephew, whose bodies were burned after they were killed. He too was beaten and released when “KLA members established that he did not kill and did not know who had killed Shaban Topalli and his relative.” Žarko Djordjević was seriously injured while being questioned about the murder of two Albanians at the Jerli Sadovine (Sadovine e Jerlive) gasoline station during the war. He, Suzan Kojić and the Bosnian Serb refugee were released to KFOR by the local KLA commander, Alji Aljija (Ali Alija).

One of the men described the beatings inflicted on them by the KLA: “A dozen of them would barge into the room and beat us until they floored us. Our hands were tied and we had to stand against the wall, first facing it and then with our backs to it. When we were down on the floor, they stomped on us with their boots. Or they would take us out one by one, beat us with rifle butts, punch and kick us and make believe they we were going to be shot. They wanted to make us confess that we had killed, raped, looted. I had nothing to confess.”
Another of the witnesses said that, while beating him, the KLA men would tell him they had killed his son, raped his daughters and were going to kill his wife too. “On the third day, the commander came and said I had been brought in by mistake, that I wasn’t guilty of anything and that he would hand me over to KFOR so they could take me home. I refused to go home because I was convinced that they had killed my family. He said they were all alive, only he did not know where they were. I didn’t believe him. He ordered my hands to be untied and the tape taken off my eyes. He asked his men which of them had beaten me. They brought in a young one in a black uniform who said he beat me just because he felt like it. The commander said he would show him what it felt like, and sent him to prison.”

This witness said Vitina Serbs and Albanians got on well. One one occasion during the NATO intervention, he was going home on leave from his military position when he heard a cry for help. “I turned around and saw a village Albanian who had been caught by reservists. I heard a lieutenant say he should be shot. I went up and told them to let the man go. They weren’t able to tell me what he had done. I saved him. Maybe something like that happened to Rusto but there wasn’t anyone around to save him. Our district suffered because of the Leskovac garrison. They robbed Albanians, and Serbs too. They took money, gold. We paid for it after the war. Everything we had was burned.”
Source: HLC, witness statement

VUČITRN (VUSHTRRI)

1. Missing

Knežević, Ljubomir (M, 60), Montenegrin, from Vučitrn (14 Trg Slobode), reporter on the Jedinstvo newspaper, Radio Priština and correspondent of the Belgrade daily Politika – disappeared on 6 May 1999.

Knežević’s son recounted to the HLC that about noon on 6 May his father went to see the Laketić family about whom he had written a story. The family lived near the railway station, some three kilometers from the town center. Knežević left them about 5 p.m. to walk home and disappeared.
His wife fled Vučitrn to Serbia on 12 June.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Janaćković, Ćirilo (M, 82), Serb, from Novo Selo Mudjansko (Novosellë Maxhune), Vučitrn Municipality – last seen on 15 June 1999.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Brakus, Dušan (M, 71), Serb, from Donji Svračak (Sfraçaku i Ulët), Vučitrn Municipality, retired – disappeared on 19 June in Nedakovac (Nedakofc), Vučitrn Municipality.

Brakus, his son and son-in-law went to Nedakovac village on 19 June to check up on their property there. When they arrived, they found the barn on fire and started to fight the blaze to prevent it spreading to the house. When the flames were extinguished at 2.30 p.m., the son and son-in-law noticed the Brakus was no longer with them.

They immediately sought KFOR’s asssistance and returned to the property with a KFOR patrol. A group of some 50 Albanians was already there, and threatened the Serbs with arrest and liquidation by the KLA police. The KFOR patrol escorted them out of the village.

The HLC witness returned to Nedakovac on 22 June to try to learn something about his father-in-law’s disappearance. KFOR members accompanied him to the property but no leads to Brakus’ whereabouts were found. The family then fled Kosovo to Serbia.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Popović, Petar (M, 64), Serb, from Vučitrn (4 Trg Slobode), retired – disappeared on 21 June 1999 in Vučitrn.

Mrs. Popović recounted that she left Vučitrn with her son to stay with her daughter in Zubin Potok. Her husband remained in their house with Ramadan, an Albanian friend who moved in with him. She last spoke with her husband on the telephone at 8.30 p.m. on 21 June when he told her he planned to join her shortly.

With KFOR assistance, Mrs. Popović was able to contact Ramadan in late July. He told her he went out in the afternoon of 22 June to buy bread, leaving Popović and his own 13-year-old son in the house. Four armed KLA members in black uniforms stormed into the house and, when Ramadan returned, he found a severely beaten Popović lying on the bed with his face badly swollen.
In the evening, Popović went to report the incident to KFOR and did not return. In August 1999, Ramadan was hit by a car whose driver remains unknown and died of the injuries he sustained.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Savić, Ljubodrag (M, 52), Serb, from Gojbulj (Gojbuje), Vučitrn Municipality, laborer – last seen around 27 June 1999.
Savić’s neighbors stated that he left Gojbulj for Novo Selo on foot and did not return.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Baltić, Slobodan (M), Serb, from Vučitrn – disappeared after 14 June 1999 in Vučitrn.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 5 July 1999

Papić, Enver (M); (last name unknown) Dejmo (M), Serbian Muslims, from Duga Poljana near Novi Pazar – disappeared on the Vučitrn-Priština road in August 1999

Papić and Dejmo were transporting goods to Priština where they were take on a consignment ordered by a business in Sjenica. They were last seen on the road from Vučitrn to Priština.
Source: Dvadesetak Srba ranjeno ili oteto [Some 20 Serbs Wounded or Kidnapped], POLITIKA, 20 August 1999

Vukmirović, Milovan (M, 53), Serb, from Grace, Vučitrn Municipality – disappeared on 9 October 1999.

Vukmirović was last seen between 2 and 3 p.m. riding his bicycle in Grace.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Čizmalji, Džemailj (Çizmali, Xhemail) (M, 47), Hashkali, from Vučitrn, bookkeeper with the Perporin company – disappeared on 13 October 1999.

Enver Čizmali told the HLC that his brother Džemail was in Novi Sad, Serbia, during the NATO intervention and returned to Vučitrn in early July 1999. On 13 October, he visited relatives and told them that someone from Perporin had called and said he should come to see about renewing his employment with the company. He left the relatives’ home at 9.30 a.m. and headed for the company offices.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stanimirović, Igor (M, 20); Stanojević Branko (M, 22), Serbs, from Plemetina (Plemetinë), Obilić Municipality – last seen on 31 March 2000 near Vučitrn while travelling from Priština to Kosovska Mitrovica.
Source: New Kidnapping of Serbs, SERBIA INFO, 3 April 2000

2. Abducted

Baltić, Slavoljub (M), Serb, from Vučitrn – last seen about 8 p.m. on 15 June on the road from Vučitrn to Miloševo village.

Albanian civilians stopped Baltić in the street, handcuffed him and took him in the direction of Mt Čičavica (Çiçavicës).
Source: KFOR oslobodio vojnika i dva brata [KFOR Frees Soldier and Two Brothers], BLIC, 17 June 1999; Teroristi protiv mira [Terrorists Against Peace], POLITIKA, 17 June 1999

Mihajlović, Branimir (M, 28), employee of the Ekstra paint and varnish company; his brothers Vladimir (M, 22), police officer and M.A. (M, 13), elementary school student, his father M.N., Serbs, from Gojbulj, Vučitrn Municipality; their friend Mladenović, Vladimir (M, 28), employee of the Startis galvanization plant, Serb, from Novo Selo Begovo (Novosellë e Begut), Vučitrn Municipality – abducted by the KLA from the Mihajlović house on 25 June 1999. M.A. was subsequently released and M.N. escaped.

Mrs. Mladenović said her family fled Novo Selo Begovo on 18 June. Her son Vladimir decided to go back to Kosovo to sell their cattle and then return to Serbia. He spoke with a friend who told him it was safe for him to come to Kosovo.

On 24 June, Vladimir Mladenović took the cattle to the Mihajlović farm in Gojbulj and planned to stay with his friends until he sold the animals. The next day, M.N. was accosted by three Albanian civilians armed with automatic rifles who forced him to open the gate and let them into his house. At gunpoint, the Albanians then led M.N., his three sons and Vladimir Mladenović toward the neighboring village of Gornje Sudimlje (Studime e Epërme). The youngest son cried and complained of a pain in his leg and was allowed to go home, and M.N. somewhat later seized a chance to escape by leaping into a gully. The abductors fired after him and, mistakenly believing they had shot him, continued to Gornje Sudimlje with the two elder Mihajlović brothers and Mladenović.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Plavci, Rifat (M, 49), Rom, from Vučitrn (4 Gračanička St.), butcher – abducted by the KLA on 5 July 1999.

Plavci’s relative recounted that Rifat and his family fled Vučitrn to Serbia on 12 June 1999. He returned on 5 July to check up on his house. The owner of the butcher’s shop where he had worked called the family and informed them that KLA members abducted Plavci from the house that same evening.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Plavci, Aljija (Plavci, Ali) (M, 36); his mother Plavci, Sahara (64), Roma, from Vučitrn (Gračanička St.) – abducted by the KLA on 5 July 1999.

Relatives stated that three KLA members came to the Plavci home on 5 July and took him to their headquarters in the house of Hasan Begeši (Hasan Begeshi). Three hours later, his mother went to the headquarters to inquire about her son. Two KLA men beat her up in front of the house and then took her inside.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Plavci, Avdulah (M, 68), Rom, from Vučitrn, restaurant owner – abducted by the KLA from his home on 5 July 1999.

Plavci’s nephew recounted that KLA members came to Plavci’s home on 5 July and led him into the barn behind the house. Neighbors heard his screams but were afraid to go to his help. Somewhat later, the KLA men left, taking Plavci with them.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Jocić, Srdjan (M, 30), Serb, from Banjska (Bajskë), Vučitrn Municipality, police officer – abducted by the KLA on 22 August on the road between Veliki Kičić (Kqiqi i Madh) and Kosovska Mitrovica.

Mrs. Jocić recounted that her husband went to his parents’ home in Veliki Kičić, Kosovska Mitrovica Municipality to take his mother to Kosovska Mitrovica. They left the village at 10.30 a.m. on 22 August in Jocić’s yellow Zastava 101 car (license plates KM 266-99).

The car broke down and Jocić got out to see if he could fix it. Five minutes later, an expensive car with four men inside, two in KLA uniforms and two in civilian clothes, drove up and stopped. The men in civilian clothes got out, one aimed his rifle at Jocić and the other seized him and pushed him into their car. When his mother cried out for help, the man threatened to kill her. They drove Jocić away, leaving his mother on the road.

A KFOR patrol appeared somewhat later and Mrs. Jocić tried to tell them of her son’s abduction. The KFOR members did not understand her and continued on their way. Then some Albanians came, managed to start the car and, against Mrs. Jocić’s protests, drove her toward the nearby village of Šupkovac (Shupkofc). The car, however, broke down again and the Albanians left Mrs. Jocić on the road. She walked to Kosovska Mitrovica and reported her son’s abduction to KFOR.
Source: HLC, witness statement

1.1. Free

1.1.1. Released by the KLA

Kordić, Jovicu (M, 40), Serb, from Leposavić (Leposaviq), Vučitrn Municipality – abducted by the KLA on 17 June, held for several hours and released.

Kordić’s friends stated that he was accosted by KLA members about 3 p.m. on 17 June, forced into a car and taken to Smrekovina (Smrekovnicë), a village between Vučitrn and Kosovska Mitrovica. He was held in a building there, beaten and questioned, and released several hours later.
Source: HLC, witness statement

R.Ž. (M, 56), employee of the Obilić thermo-electric power plant; his wife R.J. (52), Serbs, from Donje Stanovce (Stanovc i Poshtem), Vučitrn Municipality – abducted by armed Albanian civilians on 24 June 1999. They were set free by an Albanian neighbor the next day.

R.J. recounted that a group of armed Albanians came into their home about noon on 24 June and demanded that her husband hand over an automatic rifle. They searched the house and found only a pistol but still insisted that R.Ž. give them an automatic rifle. He denied having one but the Albanians did not believe him. They forced him and his wife into a car and drove them to the hills near the village, saying they were taking them to their commander. R.J. described what happened next:

“They led us into a barn, handcuffed us to each other and began to beat us. They kicked my husband, hit him with thick sticks and pistols. They kept demanding that he tell them where the automatic was. They hit me twice with a club on the back. I didn’t feel it at the time but the bruises came up later on. The next morning we saw our Albanian neighbor in KLA uniform. He recognized us and gave us a sign not to worry. He took us to the KFOR soldiers.”

R.Ž and his wife fled Kosovo to Serbia after the incident.
Source: HLC, witness statement

M.A. (M, 13), Serb, from Gojbulj, Vučitrn Municipality, elementary school student – abducted by the KLA on 25 June 1999 and released while being led to the local KLA headquarters.⁴⁴
Source: HLC, witness statement

⁴⁴  Witness statement on the abduction and release of M.A.: Vučitrn, 2. Abducted.
 

1.1.1. Escaped

M.N. (M), Serb, from Gojbulj, Vučitrn Municipality – abducted by the KLA on 25 June 1999 and escaped while being led to the local KLA headquarters.⁴⁵
Source: HLC, witness statement

⁴⁵  Witness statement on the abduction and escape of M.N.: Vučitrn, 2. Abducted.
 

ZVEČAN

1. Missing

Milojević, Goran (M, 21), from Sevojno; Kovačević, Dragan (M, 47), from Zlakusa, Užice Municipality, Serbian Serbs, employees of Užička Mlekara company of Sevojno, Serbia – last seen on 23 June 1999 near Zvečan on the Kosovska Mitrovica-Prizren road.

Milojević and Kovačević were in a blue Mercedes truck (license plates UE 166-00) owned by the dairy they worked for. They were last seen on 23 June near Zvečan by co-workers who were in a truck behind them.

The managing director of the company hired one Kočović, a journalist and former State Security Service officer, to try to locate the missing men, and paid him 10,000 deutsche marks for the expenses of the investigation. Kočović reported to the director that he had personally seen 94 Serb prisoners who were being held in a wine cellar in Dušanovo near Prizren. All the prisoners had long beards and Kočović said he two of them fitted the descriptions of Milojević and Kovačević. He later informed the director that the prisoners had been transferred elsewhere, and mentioned the possibility of their being exchanged for Albanian prisoners in Serbia.
Source: HLC, witness statement

2. Abducted

Hajdarpašić, Nedžat (M, 18), driver; Šabović, Safet (M, 36), laborer, employees of the Unionik company, Muslims, from Vitomirica, Peć Municipality – abducted on 17 July 1999 on the road from Berane, Montenegro, to Priština.

Family members told the HLC that the two missing men were travelling with Osman Sejdović in a white Yugo car with Peć license plates from Berane in Montenegro to Peć on 17 July. Sejdović told the families that they were stopped at Kula (Kulle), Zvečan Municipality, by Yugoslav Army members who retained Hajdarpašić and Šabović and the car, and allowed him to go.
Source: HLC, witness statement
 

DEČANI (DEÇAN)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1. Killed
2.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA

DJAKOVICA

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA
2.2.2. Escaped

GLOGOVAC

1. Missing

GNJILANE

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1. Killed
2.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA
2.2.3. Set free

ISTOK

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.2. Released

KAČANIK (KAÇANIK)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1 Killed

KOSOVSKA KAMENICA

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
2.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA

KLINA (KLINE)

1. Missing
2. Abducted

KOSOVO POLJE (FUSHE E KOSOVËS)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1. Killed
1.2. Free
1.2.1. Released by the KLA

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA (MITROVICE)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
1.1.1. Released by the KLA

LIPLJAN

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
2.1.1. Escaped

NOVO BRDO

1. Missing
3. Abducted
2.1 Free
2.1.1. Released by the KLA
2.1.1. Escaped
2.2. Detained

OBILIĆ (OBILIQ)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed

ORAHOVAC (RRAHOVEC)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
1.2.1. Released by the KLA
1.1.2. Escaped
1.1.3. Set free

PEĆ

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1. Killed
1.2. Free
1.2.1. Released by the KLA
1.2.2. Escaped
3. Detained

PODUJEVO (PODUJEVË)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed

PRIŠTINA (PRISHTINË)

1. Missing
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA
2.2.2. Escaped
2.2.3 Set free
3. Detained

PRIZREN

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA
2.2.2. Escaped
2.2.3. Set free

SRBICA

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Free
1.1.1. Escaped

ŠTIMLJE

1. Missing
2. Abducted

ŠTRPCE

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
1.2.1. Escaped

SUVA REKA

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1. Killed
1.3. Free
1.2.1. Released by the KLA

UROŠEVAC

1. Missing
3. Abducted
1.1. Free
1.1.1. Released by the KLA
1.1.2. Escaped

VITINA

1. Missing
2.Abducted
2.1. Killed
2.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA

VUČITRN (VUSHTRRI)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Free
1.1.1. Released by the KLA
1.1.1. Escaped

ZVEČAN

1. Missing
2. Abducted

Mailsenden