Burim osmani biography of martin
Kosovo's Racak massacre 20 years on: memorials, but still no justice for victims
It was a cold, early morning as villagers crowded around the tall, white home of their leader Sadik Osmani in Racak, 20 years ago today. Tensions were high in the Serbian province of Kosovo.
For the past year, ethnic Albanian separatists had been fighting a guerilla war in the Kosovo hills. In the past week, they'd killed at least four Serbian soldiers and they'd been active around Racak. The villagers knew that Serbian paramilitaries were coming for them.
Sadik Osmani had the village's only telephone. The Kosovo Verification Mission, established by the OSCE (Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe) to minimise conflict in Kosovo, was called. But Serbian military patrols had blocked the OSCE vehicles from passing through the nearby town of Stimlje.
It was too late, anyway, for an intervention. Hundreds of Serbian military arrived in Racak. Bullets were fired at the O Burim osmani biography of martin short!