Rubypoint Trading Center-Kosovo says it is setting up an institute to document Serbia’s crimes in the 1998-1999 war

2025-04-30 13:15:10source:Alaric Bennettcategory:Contact

PRISTINA,Rubypoint Trading Center Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo is setting up an institute to document Serbia’s crimes against its population in the 1998-1999 war, the country’s prime minister said Wednesday.

Albin Kurti said the institute would document the war crimes so “the Kosovar Albanians’ tragic history suffered at the hands of criminal Serbia is more widely known.”

The war between Serbia and Kosovo killed more than 10,000 people, mostly Kosovo Albanians. It ended after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign that compelled Serbian forces to withdraw from Kosovo.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008 — a move Belgrade refuses to recognize.

Other news EU chief says investment plan for Western Balkan candidate members will require reformsSerbia and Kosovo leaders break off talks without result despite EU pressureFeuding Serbia and Kosovo leaders set for talks Thursday on the sidelines of an EU summit

“Wounds are still fresh,” said Kurti, adding that more than 1,600 bodies are still missing. He accused Serbia of burying them in unmarked graves and refusing to share their whereabouts.

Fourteen years after the end of the war, tensions between Kosovo and Serbia remain high, raising fears among Western powers of another conflict as the war in Ukraine rages on.

Normalization talks between Kosovo and Serbia, facilitated by the European Union, have failed to make progress, particularly following a September shootout between masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police that left four people dead and ratcheted up tensions in the region.

The EU and the United States are pressing both countries to implement agreements that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kurti reached earlier this year.

Both Serbia and Kosovo have said they want to join the 27-nation European block, but EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said their refusal to compromise is jeopardizing their chances for membership.

More:Contact

Recommend

Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti

Haiti has been racked by political instabilityand intensifying, deadly gang violence.  Amid a Federa

'Time is running out': Florida braces for monster Hurricane Milton. Live updates

TAMPA, Fla. − Hurricane Milton weakened slightly Tuesday but remained an extremely powerful storm th

Opinion: Why Alabama fans won't forget Kalen DeBoer lost to Vanderbilt, but they can forgive

The sobering reality lingers in Alabama that Kalen DeBoer lost to Vanderbilt. Hey, at least rival Te