The Bellacërkë massacre

On 25 March 1999 VJ and MUP forces attacked Bellacërkë; villagers fleeing along the stream were stopped at the railway bridge, women and children were separated, and a large group of men were robbed and shot in the streambed. The ICTY found that 59 people were killed there that day.

Judicially establishedThe 1998–1999 warCrimesDisplacement

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According to the Milutinović et al. judgment, MUP forces killed at least 10 people at the stream, including women and children, and at least 42 men at the bridge; 59 in total [1]. The Đorđević judgment found 13 killed at the river, 41 men at the bridge and six men in a nearby channel [2].

Figures vary by source and definition: 59 judicially established; about 65 plus 6 alleged in the indictment; 77 bodies exhumed according to HRW citing the ICTY [3]. Defence witnesses denied the events; the Chamber did not rely on their evidence.

How do we know this?

The ICTY found that MUP forces killed 59 people in Bellacërkë on 25 March 1999.
Evidence status: Judicially established. Established in a final court judgment. It covers only what the court found, not every later interpretation.Last reviewed: 16 September 2026
The indictment alleged about 71; HRW cites 77 bodies exhumed. The judicial figure is the proven minimum.
- Tribunali Penal Ndërkombëtar për ish-Jugosllavinë (ICTY), Prosecutor v. Milutinović et al., Judgement, Vol. 2 of 4, 2009, para. 382
- Tribunali Penal Ndërkombëtar për ish-Jugosllavinë (ICTY), Prosecutor v. Vlastimir Đorđević, Public Judgement with Confidential Annex, 2011

Sources

Editorial status: Awaiting verificationDrafted from the cited sources; not yet fully reviewed by the editors.

Last reviewed: 16 September 2026

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