Name: The fighting in Rahovec, July 1998
Start: 1998-07-17
End: 1998-07-21
Location: Rahovec

The fighting in Rahovec, July 1998

On 17–19 July 1998 the UÇK launched its first major attack on a town, trying to capture Rahovec. Serbian police retook the town about two days later, along with Malisheva.

DocumentedThe 1998–1999 warArmed conflictCrimes

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

Key facts

Date: 17–21 July 1998
Place: Rahovec, Malishevë
Coordinates: Municipality level (approximate)
Sources: 2
Evidence status: Evidence status: Documented. Supported by contemporaneous documents, institutional reports or independent studies that corroborate one another.

Content warning

This material describes violence, death or loss. Read it when you are ready; you can close it at any time.

HRW reports that at least 42 Albanians were killed in the Rahovec fighting and that witnesses described summary executions and the use of civilians as human shields by police [1].

Also according to HRW, the UÇK detained an estimated 85 Serbs during the offensive; 35 were released and handed to the Red Cross on 22 July. The ICRC recorded 39 Serbs missing from Rahovec municipality on 17–18 July [1] [2]. The archive presents both groups of victims with their sources.

This point is disputed. The number of missing Serbs varies by source (about 40 per HRW, 39 per the ICRC).

How do we know this?

In the July 1998 Rahovec fighting, according to HRW, at least 42 Albanians were killed and the UÇK detained about 85 Serbs, 35 of whom were released; the ICRC recorded 39 Serbs missing.
Evidence status: Documented. Supported by contemporaneous documents, institutional reports or independent studies that corroborate one another.Last reviewed: 16 September 2026
The number of missing Serbs varies by source (about 40 per HRW, 39 per the ICRC).
- Fred Abrahams, Benjamin Ward, Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo, 2001
- Human Rights Watch, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Humanitarian Law Violations in Kosovo, 1998

Sources

Last reviewed: 16 September 2026

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