Račak massacre

E82611

The Račak massacre was a 1999 killing of ethnic Albanian civilians in the village of Račak in Kosovo by Serbian security forces, widely seen as a pivotal atrocity that galvanized international support for NATO intervention.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf massacre
war crime allegation
aftermath NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
Rambouillet peace talks
causeOf galvanized support for NATO intervention in Kosovo
increased diplomatic pressure on Yugoslav authorities
international outrage
conflict Kosovo War
surface form: Kosovo conflict
context insurgency by Kosovo Liberation Army
coordinateLocation 42.433°N 21.033°E
country Yugoslavia
surface form: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
date 1999-01-15
deathCause gunshot wounds
describedAs pivotal atrocity of the Kosovo War
disputedBy Serbian government
surface form: Serbian authorities

Yugoslav government officials
historicalSignificance turning point in international response to Kosovo crisis
investigatedBy International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
keyWitness William Walker
killed elderly people
men
women
languageOfToponym Albanian
Serbian
legalCharacterization crime against humanity (alleged)
location Kosovo
surface form: Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija

Kosovo
Račak
Shtime municipality
mediaCoverage extensive international media attention
numberOfVictims approximately 45
occuredDuring Serbian counter-insurgency operations against KLA
partOf Kosovo War
perpetrator Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia
Serbian police forces
surface form: Serbian security forces

Special Anti-Terrorist Unit of Serbia
Yugoslav Army
recognizedBy many Western governments as massacre of civilians
relatedEvent Drenica massacres
Prekaz massacre
reportedBy OSCE Mission in Kosovo
surface form: OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission
timePeriod late 20th century
toponymInAlbanian Reçak
toponymInSerbian Račak
usedAs evidence of crimes against humanity in Kosovo
victimGroup ethnic Albanian civilians
William WalkerRole head of OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Kosovo War notableEvent Račak massacre