The “Massacre of Celina” occurred from March 25 1999, in the village of Celina, in the municipality of Rahovec, during the Kosovo War. Serbian military and police forces, supported by local Serbs, surrounded the village, launching heavy shelling and machine-gun fire on homes. Over the course of four days, these forces brutally killed and massacred 82 Albanian civilians, most of whom were residents of Celina. Among the victims were 11 children aged 2-14, 7 women, 6 adult girls, and 58 men. Civilians were killed with firearms and sharp weapons, and some were burned with gasoline and straw to conceal evidence of the crime. To further hide their atrocities, Serbian forces took some of the bodies and buried them in Rahovec, while others were left in the village. Serbian forces also looted and burned most of the houses, the school, and the mosque. After killing four additional civilians, the remaining survivors were forcibly deported to Albania. The bodies of the massacred were buried by villagers who had managed to escape, and after the war, in July 1999, the victims were exhumed. International pathologists conducted forensic examinations, and the remains were reburied in Celina. The Chief Prosecutor of the Hague Tribunal, Louise Arbour, was present during the exhumations on July 14, 1999. (In the photo: View from the village of Celinë.)
Text: The encyclopedic dictionary of Kosovo – Vol. II , Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo, Pristina, 2018, page 1054.
Photo: © https://www.facebook.com/211349922295493/photos/a.721539907943156/3558739034223215/?type=3
Graphic processing: AHCF
