More than 80% of ethnic Albanians killed during the 1998–1999 Kosovo War were civilians, according to Atdhe Hetemi, Director of the Institute for Crimes Committed During the Kosovo War, following the publication of the Institute’s preliminary report.
“Over 80% of the victims from the Albanian community were civilians killed during the war. Meanwhile, 52.4% of all those documented as killed, forcibly disappeared, or who died as a consequence of the war were members of armed forces or were identified as armed personnel,” Hetemi said in an interview with RTK Prime.
He revealed that the Institute has collected extensive documentation from more than 15 countries, including hundreds of linear meters of archival records and over 21 terabytes of digital material documenting war crimes. According to Hetemi, this evidence was used to verify every recorded victim.
The report is based on three categories of victims: those killed, those forcibly disappeared, and those who died as a direct consequence of the war. Hetemi stressed that the database remains preliminary and open to additional documented cases to further strengthen Kosovo’s historical archive.
He explained that the Institute applied four key criteria for inclusion: individuals who were born in or resided in Kosovo during the war; those killed or forcibly disappeared in circumstances directly linked to the conflict; those who later died from war-related injuries; and individuals whose cases are documented as being connected to the Kosovo War.
According to the report, 11,415 victims (86.3%) were men, while 1,811 women also lost their lives, highlighting that the consequences of the war affected both genders.
The findings further show that the largest proportion of victims were of working age, with 57.5% between 18 and 50 years old. Another 14.7% were over the age of 65, while more than 1,240 victims were children between 0 and 17 years old.
The report documents 12,230 war victims between January 1998 and June 20, 1999. It records the killing of 1,247 children aged 0 to 17, while 94 others died as a result of war-related conditions. The fate and whereabouts of 100 children who were forcibly disappeared during the war remain unknown.
