A train filled with Albanian refugees expelled from Kosovo toward Macedonia at Prishtina Railway Station, April 1, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
March-June 1999
Bombings, Expulsion, and the Return of Refugees
Refugjatë shqiptarë të Kosovës në rrugën e dëbimit, 1999. Foto: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees on the road during their expulsion, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees on the road during their expulsion, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees on the road during their expulsion, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees on the road during their expulsion, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees on the road during their expulsion, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees on the road during their expulsion, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees on the road during their expulsion, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees on the road during their expulsion, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees on the road during their expulsion, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees on the road during their expulsion, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Albanian families leaving their homes during the war in Kosovo, April 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Albanian civilians fleeing by tractor and other vehicles during the war in Kosovo, April 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Albanian civilians board a tractor trailer while fleeing the fighting, April 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Albanian civilians board a tractor trailer while fleeing the fighting, April 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
A male refugee receiving medical treatment at a camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
A male refugee cries at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
A Kosovo Albanian refugee family at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugee children at a camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Refugees receiving humanitarian aid at a camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Refugees receiving humanitarian aid at a camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Refugees receiving humanitarian aid at a camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Refugees receiving humanitarian aid at a camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Refugjatë shqiptarë të Kosovës në një kamp refugjatësh në Maqedoni, 1999. Foto: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Silhouettes of two refugee boys at a camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
A woman communicates with refugees through the camp fence. Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Media crews’ equipment at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Notes bearing the names of people missing or separated from their families, posted by refugees trying to find relatives. Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Messages for refugees at the Stenkovec camp, posted in efforts to find and contact separated family members. Stenkovec, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Portraits of Kosovo Albanian refugees at a refugee camp in Macedonia, 1999. Photo: Paul Lowe.
Željko Ražnatović ‘Arkan’, Serbian paramilitary leader and manager of the Obilić football club, after a match in Prishtina, March 12, 1999. Photo: Peter Marlow / Magnum Photos.
Approximately 200 Albanian refugees from Besia, about 10 kilometers north of Prishtina, leave the village after fighting between Serbian forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army. Besia, March 15, 1999. Photo: Alban Bujari / EPA.
Approximately 200 Albanian refugees from Besia, about 10 kilometers north of Prishtina, leave the village after fighting between Serbian forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army. Besia, March 15, 1999. Photo: Alban Bujari / EPA.
Kosovo Albanian refugees cross the border on foot along the railway after arriving by train from Ferizaj. Blacë, March 31, 1999. Photo: Alan Chin.
Kosovo Albanian refugees try to obtain humanitarian aid in the Blacë border area, where tens of thousands of people were trapped between two borders. Blacë, April 3, 1999. Photo: Alan Chin.
Kosovo Albanian refugees leave the makeshift camp at Blacë to be transferred to a transit camp built by NATO. Blacë, April 6, 1999. Photo: Alan Chin.
A Kosovo Albanian refugee cuts her father’s hair at the makeshift camp near the Macedonian border. Blacë, April 6, 1999. Photo: Alan Chin.
Aftermath of the attack by Serbian forces on the village of Ivajë, Kaçanik, March 1999. Photo: Peter Marlow / Magnum Photos.
Refugee children receiving bread and aid at the Kukës camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugee children receiving bread and aid at the Kukës camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugee children receiving bread and aid at the Kukës camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugee children receiving bread and aid at the Kukës camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugee children receiving bread and aid at the Kukës camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugee children receiving bread and aid at the Kukës camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
A view of the refugee camp in Kukës, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugees running toward the distribution of humanitarian aid at the Kukës camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Four refugee children beside a car at the Kukës camp, one of them making the peace sign, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugees with bread received as part of humanitarian aid at the Kukës camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Rexhep Qosja, Albanian writer and academic, as a war refugee in Skopje, late March 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugees walking along the railway in Blacë after their expulsion from Kosovo, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugees walking along the railway in Blacë after their expulsion from Kosovo, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugees walking along the railway in Blacë after their expulsion from Kosovo, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugees walking along the railway in Blacë after their expulsion from Kosovo, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugees walking along the railway in Blacë after their expulsion from Kosovo, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugees walking along the railway in Blacë after their expulsion from Kosovo, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
A refugee family at the Blacë camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
A refugee family at the Blacë camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
A refugee family at the Blacë camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
A refugee family at the Blacë camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Children and adults among crowds of refugees in Blacë, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Fëmijë dhe të rritur mes turmave të refugjatëve në Bllacë, 1999. Foto: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugees receiving bread and humanitarian aid at the Blacë camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Refugees receiving bread and humanitarian aid at the Blacë camp, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Crowds of Kosovo Albanian refugees at the Blacë camp, spring 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Crowds of Kosovo Albanian refugees at the Blacë camp, spring 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Kosovo Albanian refugees sheltered in Čair, Skopje, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Kosovo Albanian refugees sheltered in Čair, Skopje, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Kosovo Albanian refugees sheltered in Čair, Skopje, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Kosovo Albanian refugees sheltered in Čair, Skopje, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
American actor Richard Gere visiting Kosovo Albanian refugees at the Brazda/Stenkovec camp near Skopje, April 28, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
American actor Richard Gere visiting Kosovo Albanian refugees at the Brazda/Stenkovec camp near Skopje, April 28, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
American actor Richard Gere visiting Kosovo Albanian refugees at the Brazda/Stenkovec camp near Skopje, April 28, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
F/A-18 fighter jets on the deck of the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt during NATO’s Operation Allied Force against Yugoslavia, Adriatic Sea, April 1999. Photo: Peter Marlow / Magnum Photos.
An F/A-18 fighter jet takes off from the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt for a NATO mission during Operation Allied Force, Adriatic Sea, April 1999. Photo: Peter Marlow / Magnum Photos.
Military personnel in the control center of the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt during NATO’s air operation against Yugoslavia, Adriatic Sea, April 1999. Photo: Peter Marlow / Magnum Photos.
Members of the Yugoslav Army in front of a residential building struck during NATO bombing, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
Members of the Yugoslav Army in front of a residential building struck during NATO bombing, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
A man and his daughter leave destroyed homes after a NATO missile struck central Prishtina. Prishtina, April 7, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
An Albanian house burned during the war in Kosovo, 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Inside a mosque destroyed during the war in Kosovo, 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Destruction in Gjakovë after the first ten days of NATO bombing. April 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Destruction in Gjakovë after the first ten days of NATO bombing. April 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Destruction in Gjakovë after the first ten days of NATO bombing. April 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Destruction in Gjakovë after the first ten days of NATO bombing. April 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Burned cars in the neighborhood between Taukbahçe and Sofalia. Prishtina, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Destroyed vehicles and machinery along a road on the outskirts of Prishtina, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Residents among destroyed vehicles and machinery on the outskirts of Prishtina, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
A destroyed tractor on the outskirts of Prishtina, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
A destroyed tractor on the outskirts of Prishtina, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Human remains on the outskirts of Prishtina, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Human remains on the outskirts of Prishtina, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
The body of a victim and human remains on the outskirts of Prishtina, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
The burned body of a victim inside a burned house on the outskirts of Prishtina, 1999. Photo: Besnik Mehmeti.
Sabernete Nuraj and her younger sister Liridona Nuraj from Rracaj, survivors of the attack on a refugee convoy near Bishtazhin, April 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
Radojka Sekulović cries near the home of her relatives, the Tosović family, who were killed in a NATO air strike. Merdare, April 12, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
A seriously wounded woman is given water after NATO bombed a convoy of Albanians near Mejë. Mejë, Gjakovë, April 14, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
An abandoned patient at the psychiatric hospital in the village of Shtime, April 18, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
Patients at the psychiatric institution in Shtime remain in their room as the hospital faces harsh conditions and shortages of food and medical supplies. Shtime, April 18, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
A column of residents from Gallap during the population’s expulsion, April 19, 1999. Photo: Ridvan Slivova.
A column of residents from Gallap during the population’s expulsion, April 19, 1999. Photo: Ridvan Slivova.
The displacement of the population in the villages of Gallap, April 1999. Photo: Ridvan Slivova.
The displacement of the population in the villages of Gallap, April 1999. Photo: Ridvan Slivova.
Mass graves of victims of the Gallap massacres, killed between April 19 and 23, 1999. Makoc, 1999. Photo: Ridvan Slivova.
Mass graves of victims of the Gallap massacres, killed between April 19 and 23, 1999. Makoc, 1999. Photo: Ridvan Slivova.
Mass graves of victims of the Gallap massacres, killed between April 19 and 23, 1999. Makoc, 1999. Photo: Ridvan Slivova.
General Vladimir Lazarević, commander of the Yugoslav Army’s Prishtina Corps, speaking to the media. Prishtina, May 13, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
The Dubrava Massacre. A guard stands near the bodies of three Albanian prisoners at Dubrava Prison on May 21, 1999. Serbian authorities stated that they had been killed during NATO’s bombing of the complex. Dubravë, Istog. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
The Dubrava Massacre. Prisoners carry an injured person at the entrance to Dubrava Prison after NATO bombed the complex. Dubravë, Istog, May 21, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
The Dubrava Massacre. A prison guard keeps a group of Albanian prisoners under control while one prisoner helps an injured man. Prison authorities stated that he had been injured during NATO’s bombing campaign. Dubravë, Istog, May 21, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
The Dubrava Massacre. A prison guard stands near the body of a prisoner outside one of the buildings at Dubrava Prison. Dubravë, Istog, May 24, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
The Dubrava Massacre. The bodies of prisoners killed in the Dubrava Prison complex. Dubravë, Istog, May 24, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
The Dubrava Massacre. The bodies of prisoners killed in the Dubrava Prison complex. Dubravë, Istog, May 24, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
Sabit Hoxha, Fadil Kalaba, and Nijaz Ajdari from Ferizaj in a courtroom in Gjilan, accused by Yugoslav authorities of spying for NATO and passing on information about the locations of targets in Kosovo. Gjilan, May 25, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
Portrait of an Albanian girl during the war in Kosovo. Kleçkë, May 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Albanian children with handmade toy airplanes evoking NATO aircraft during the war in Kosovo. Kleçkë, May 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Young Albanians secretly descend into the village to fill sacks with grain during the war in Kosovo. Kleçkë, May 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
An Albanian child with a food package from U.S. humanitarian aid. Kleçkë, May 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Albanian children eating a meal at their shelter in Kleçkë, May 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Albanian children sheltered in Kleçkë during the war in Kosovo, May 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Portrait of an Albanian child near a makeshift cooking area. Kleçkë, May 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Albanian families sheltered in Kleçkë during the war in Kosovo, May 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Albanian families sheltered in Kleçkë during the war in Kosovo, May 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Albanian men during their stay in Kleçkë, May 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
A young Albanian man reads a book about computerization and information technology during his stay in Kleçkë. May 1999. Photo: Paul S. Refsdal.
Yugoslav Army General Vladimir Lazarević speaking with journalists near Podujevë on the day Yugoslav forces began withdrawing from Kosovo. June 10, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
The withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army near Podujevë, June 10, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
The withdrawal of Yugoslav Army personnel from Kosovo, June 11, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
Roma refugees leaving Kosovo for other parts of Serbia, June 11, 1999. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.
A Macedonian boy runs near a British Army armored vehicle as NATO forces prepare to deploy to Kosovo. Near Skopje, June 11, 1999. Photo: Alan Chin.
Refugees return to Prishtina, June 1999. Photo: Ridvan Slivova.
Refugees return to Prishtina, June 1999. Photo: Ridvan Slivova.
Refugees return to Prishtina, June 1999. Photo: Ridvan Slivova.
Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan beside the ruins of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, destroyed during NATO’s 1999 bombing, December 3, 2000. Photo: Goran Tomašević / Reuters.