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Line 269: + + − In late 1998, Milosevic unleashed a police and military campaign against the separatist KLA, which included alleged atrocities against civilian noncombatants; KLA fighters, too, were guilty of serious human rights abuses <ref> [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7990761.stm The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) abducted civilians in Kosovo who were then mistreated and in some cases killed, a BBC investigation has found.] </ref>. For the duration of Milosevic's campaign, large numbers of ethnic Albanians were either displaced from their homes in Kosovo or killed by Serbian troops or police. These acts, and Serbia's refusal to sign the Rambouillet Accords, provoked a military response from [[NATO]], which consisted primarily of aerial bombing. The campaign continued from March through June 1999. After 79 days of bombing, Milosevic capitulated and international forces, led by NATO, moved into Kosovo. The international security presence, which is known as Kosovo Force (KFOR), works closely with the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to ensure protection for all of Kosovo's communities. − Line 277:
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→Kosovo
As a result of this oppression, Kosovo Albanian leaders led a peaceful resistance movement in the early 1990s and established a parallel government funded mainly by the Albanian diaspora. When this movement failed to yield results, an armed resistance emerged in 1996 in the form of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The KLA's main goal was to secure the independence of Kosovo but it was regarded by the US as a terrorist group until 1998. The KLA was responsible for serious abuses in 1998, including abductions and murders of Serbs and ethnic Albanians considered collaborators with the state. <ref> [http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2001/kosovo/undword.htm Abuses by the KLA.] Human Rights Watch. </ref> Serbs, Gypsies, Jews, Turks and other non-Albanians were driven from their ancestral homes in Kosovo by the terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army. <ref> [http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/BIS111A.html War on terrorism skipped the KLA.] </ref>
As a result of this oppression, Kosovo Albanian leaders led a peaceful resistance movement in the early 1990s and established a parallel government funded mainly by the Albanian diaspora. When this movement failed to yield results, an armed resistance emerged in 1996 in the form of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The KLA's main goal was to secure the independence of Kosovo but it was regarded by the US as a terrorist group until 1998. The KLA was responsible for serious abuses in 1998, including abductions and murders of Serbs and ethnic Albanians considered collaborators with the state. <ref> [http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2001/kosovo/undword.htm Abuses by the KLA.] Human Rights Watch. </ref> Serbs, Gypsies, Jews, Turks and other non-Albanians were driven from their ancestral homes in Kosovo by the terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army. <ref> [http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/BIS111A.html War on terrorism skipped the KLA.] </ref>
In late 1998, Milosevic unleashed a police and military campaign against the separatist KLA, which included alleged atrocities against civilian noncombatants; KLA fighters, too, were guilty of serious human rights abuses <ref> [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7990761.stm The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) abducted civilians in Kosovo who were then mistreated and in some cases killed, a BBC investigation has found.] </ref>. For the duration of Milosevic's campaign, large numbers of ethnic Albanians were either displaced from their homes in Kosovo or killed by Serbian troops or police. These acts, and Serbia's refusal to sign the Rambouillet Accords, provoked a military response from [[NATO]], which consisted primarily of aerial bombing. The campaign continued from March through June 1999. After 79 days of bombing, Milosevic capitulated and international forces, led by NATO, moved into Kosovo. The international security presence, which is known as Kosovo Force (KFOR), works closely with the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to ensure protection for all of Kosovo's communities.
[[File:Hashim Thaci PM Kosovo Reuter.jpg|thumb|280px|Kosovo's PM linked to trade in human organs.]]
[[File:Hashim Thaci PM Kosovo Reuter.jpg|thumb|280px|Kosovo's PM linked to trade in human organs.]]
Senior NATO and U. N. officials know that persons linked to the former KLA, including some of Kosovo's key political figures, are implicated in violence against minorities and in criminal activities, but they have chosen not to confront them. [[Ibidem]]
Senior NATO and U. N. officials know that persons linked to the former KLA, including some of Kosovo's key political figures, are implicated in violence against minorities and in criminal activities, but they have chosen not to confront them. [[Ibidem]]
NATO allowed the KLA, which under the terms of United Nations Resolution 1244 was to be disarmed after the end of the bombing, to keep its weapons. The KLA was renamed the Kosovo Protection Force and been given the task of maintaining peace and security in Kosovo. How well it has been able to carry out this task is summed up in a report dated Feb. 26, 2001, to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, which accuses the protection corps of widespread acts of murder, torture and extortion. <ref> [http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/BIS111A.html War on terrorism skipped the KLA.] by James Bissett (former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania, 1990-1992). </ref>
NATO allowed the KLA, which under the terms of United Nations Resolution 1244 was to be disarmed after the end of the bombing, to keep its weapons. The KLA was renamed the Kosovo Protection Force and been given the task of maintaining peace and security in Kosovo. How well it has been able to carry out this task is summed up in a report dated Feb. 26, 2001, to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, which accuses the protection corps of widespread acts of murder, torture and extortion. <ref> [http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/BIS111A.html War on terrorism skipped the KLA.] by James Bissett (former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania, 1990-1992). </ref>
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Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi headed a mafia-style organised crime ring in the late 1990s that engaged in assassinations, beatings, organ trafficking and other crimes, says a report... it also accused Western powers of complicity in ignoring crimes dating back to the late 1990s. [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kosovos-pm-linked-to-trade-in-human-organs-2160629.html]
====Current Status====
====Current Status====