The Izbicë massacre

On 28 March 1999, after thousands of displaced people had gathered in a field at Izbicë, men were separated from women and children, divided into groups and shot; several elderly people were also killed in the field. Villagers buried and filmed the dead.

Judicially establishedThe 1998–1999 warCrimesDisplacement

Two black-and-white overhead views of a field; the second shows rows of graves marked with a yellow frame — Overhead imagery released by the U.S. Department of State in May 1999: the same field near Izbicë without graves and with rows of new graves.Photo: U.S. Department of State / U.S. Department of State · 1999 · Domen publik (Public domain)

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The Milutinović et al. judgment found that the execution of at least 93 people was carried out by MUP forces, specifically the PJP; the Đorđević judgment found no fewer than 132 killed by Serbian forces [1] [2]. Villagers who buried the dead counted 146–166 bodies [3].

The defence challenged the location and civilian status of the victims; the Chamber accepted the survivors' evidence but noted that some KLA members were also buried at the site. The bodies were later removed from the graves; remains of some victims were found in Serbia [4].

Photographs

Two overhead views: rows of graves on the left, churned earth at the same spot on the right — Overhead imagery released by the U.S. government: the burial site near Izbicë on 15 May 1999 and the same site on 3 June 1999, after the graves had been disturbed.Photo: U.S. Department of State / U.S. Department of State / Department of Defense · 1999-06 · Domen publik (Public domain)

How do we know this?

Two ICTY judgments found that at least 93 and no fewer than 132 people, respectively, were killed in Izbicë on 28 March 1999 by Serbian forces.
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
Villagers who buried the dead counted 146–166 bodies; the defence disputed the civilian status of some victims.

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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