March Pogrom: 21 Years Ago, False News Led to Murders and the Expulsion of Serbs from Kosovo

Sixteen Serbs were killed, hundreds were injured, thousands were expelled, and more than a thousand buildings, homes, churches, and monasteries were destroyed.

The violence was preceded by accusations from Albanians that Serbs were responsible for the drowning of three Albanian boys in the Ibar River. Although it turned out that the boys had drowned in a tragic accident on March 16th, the violence escalated the following day. Among the Serbian victims, a significant number were returnees to Kosovo and Metohija, while 11 Albanians lost their lives in clashes with international security forces.

In the subsequent period, international prosecutors and judges in Kosovo and Metohija prosecuted seven cases of church destruction, and 67 individuals were sentenced. The UN Security Council condemned the pogrom of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, as did the official Brussels, the EU, and representatives of several countries.

On the night between March 17th and 18th, 2004, after the violence against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, protesters in Belgrade broke through the police cordon at the corner of King Petar and Gospodar Jevremove streets and stormed into the courtyard of the Bajrakli Mosque.

They smashed windows, destroyed the interior, and then set the mosque on fire. That night, the library with more than 7,000 valuable books was burned. Mosques in Nis and Novi Sad were also set on fire.

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