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A Village Destroyed

War Crimes in Kosovo

Second from left is a man identified as Srecko Popovic, who multiple witnesses said was a member of the Serbian security forces in Cuska, Kosovo, on May 14, the day forty-one people were executed. Third from left is a man identified as Slavisa Kastratovic, who was seen in Zahac, Kosovo, with Serbian security forces on May 14,when nineteen other men were killed. Their knowledge of the events and other members of their units would make them invaluable witnesses to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The identities and activities of the other men in the photograph are unknown, as is the date and place of the photograph. © HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

In the early morning of May 14, 1999, in the midst of NATO's air campaign against Yugoslavia, Serbian security forces descended on the small village of Cuška--Qyshk in Albanian--near the western Kosovo city of Pec (Pejë). Fearing reprisals, many men fled into the nearby hills while the rest of the population was forcibly assembled in the village center. An estimated twelve men were killed during the roundup in various parts of the village.