Office for Kosovo and Metohija: 1999 Killers of 14 Serb Civilians Remain at Large

Serbian government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija

On July 23, the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija recalled that the day marks 26 years since 14 Serb harvesters – the youngest being seventeen-year-old Novica Janicijevic – were murdered in the village of Staro Gracko, near Lipljan.

“They were executed in cold blood, with close-range gunfire, and although it is clear that the perpetrators of this heinous crime belonged to the then still-active terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army, none of the killers have been brought to justice. The crime occurred after international forces entered Kosovo and Metohija and the deaths of the Serb farmers, whose only fault was that they were Serbs, occurred within [KFOR’s] jurisdiction, demonstrating [the force’s] unwillingness to protect Serbs and find and punish the perpetrators,” the Office said in its statement.

The Office went on to state that international forces continue to turn a blind eye and remain mum at the persecution of those who dare mention and condemn the crimes of the terrorist KLA and seek justice for the innocent Serb victims.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the “bloody harvest” was closed due to the alleged lack of evidence, although a crime of such magnitude must have required extensive preparations and involved at least several perpetrators, making it incredibly unlikely that there were no viable leads to those responsible, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija concluded.