Today in history, 9 November: The Meja massacre (Operation Reka)

The recorded event closest to today's date in the archive calendar.

Date of the event: 27–28 April 1999
Place: Mejë
Evidence status: Evidence status: Judicially established. Established in a final court judgment. It covers only what the court found, not every later interpretation.

In the joint VJ and MUP operation in the Carragoj valley on 27–28 April 1999, villagers were expelled towards Albania and men were separated from refugee columns at checkpoints near Meja and Korenica and killed.

Full event record, with sources and map

Historical context

1999

From the Reçak massacre to the entry of KFOR: six months that saw failed negotiations, NATO's intervention, the mass expulsion of Albanians and crimes documented by international courts.

Read the chapter “1999: Reçak, expulsions and the end of the war”

Sources

[1]Tribunali Penal Ndërkombëtar për ish-Jugosllavinë (ICTY). Prosecutor v. Milutinović et al., Judgement, Vol. 2 of 4. 2009-02-26. IT-05-87-T. https://www.icty.org/x/cases/milutinovic/tjug/en/jud090226-e2of4.pdf. Accessed 2026-09-16.
[2]Tribunali Penal Ndërkombëtar për ish-Jugosllavinë (ICTY). Prosecutor v. Vlastimir Đorđević, Public Judgement with Confidential Annex. 2011-02-23. IT-05-87/1-T. https://www.icty.org/x/cases/djordjevic/tjug/en/110223_djordjevic_judgt_en.pdf. Accessed 2026-09-16.
[3]Fred Abrahams, Benjamin Ward. Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo. 2001-10-26. https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/kosovo/. Accessed 2026-09-16.
[4]Fond za humanitarno pravo / Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), Beograd. Odgovor na netačne navode Shkëlzena Gashija i organizatora izložbe „Masakri na Kosovu 1998–1999“. 2026-03-30. https://www.hlc-rdc.org/informisanje/saopstenja/odgovor-na-netacne-navode-shkelzena-gashija-i-organizatora-izlozbe-masakri-na-kosovu-1998-1999/. Accessed 2026-09-16.