Racak

Racak (Recak in Albanian) is a village in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo, located at 42°25'46" N, 21°00'59" E. It became notorious in January 1999 after 45 people were killed in the village during the conflict between state security forces and Albanian guerrillas.

Prior to the summer of 1998, Racak had a population of around 2,000 people, largely Albanians. Most of its population was displaced by fighting between government security forces and guerrillas from the Kosovo Liberation Army in July 1998, when part of the village was destroyed. By January 1999, about 350 people had returned to the village, according to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). On January 16, 1999, OSCE monitors found the bodies of 45 people in and around the village in what became widely known as the Racak incident or Racak massacre. Following the killings, for which the international community blamed the security forces, the remaining population fled and did not return until the end of the Kosovo War in June 1999.

References & links

• Kosovo/Kosova As Seen, As Told - OSCE, May 1999
• "Massacre haunts returning Kosovo villagers", The Atlanta Constitution, June 15, 1999
• "Kosovo village struggles in limbo a year later", Associated Press, March 19, 2000