Qyshk

The “Šakali” (Jackals) unit was part of the 177th MTD (Military-territorial Detachment) Peć which was under the command of the 125th MtBr (motorized brigade). According to the rules of international law, Dragan Živanović, as the Commander of the 125th MtBr was obliged to undertake all necessary measures to prevent the crime in Qyshk/Ćuška, or if made aware of the events after the fact, to report the events to the prosecuting authorities.

According to the “Plan for Engagement of Joint Squads” produced by the Priština Corps Command and issued on April 25th, 1999, the 177th MTD was subordinate to the 125th MtBr in the following activities and tasks:

“1. United and sustained command, co-ordination, uninterrupted functioning of the communication system.

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Detection and destruction of the remaining SHTF and full control of the territory within the zone of responsibility.

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8. Clearing up of the front through the organs of the MUP and local authorities.

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10. Taking of measures to prevent disorder, lack of discipline, looting, arson, abuse and other forms of criminal behaviour within the unit and the zone of responsibility...”

The Command of the 125th MtBr issued an order sent (among others to the 177th MTD) on April 24th, 1999, asking for “the full combat control of the sectors”. The order was signed by Dragan Živanović. Part of the order offers an “Assessment of the number of ShTF[Shiptar – Terrorist Forces] in the area of responsibility of the Brigade“:

“Another 100 individuals who took part in combat operations against our forces are in the area of the villages of Blagoje, Naklno, Zabrđe, Osoje, Ćuška, and Zahač wearing civilian clothes and living in their native villages.”

This order represents an obvious violation of international humanitarian law because civilians in the aforementioned villages are represented as legitimate targets, that is, no distinction was made between combatants and civilians.

At around 7 o'clock in the morning, on May 14^th, 1999, Yugoslav Army (YA) soldiers, dressed in blue and camouflage uniforms and with their faces covered in black paint, entered the village of Ćuška/Qyshk. Citizens were expelled from their houses and ordered to gather in the centre of the village. About 300 villagers gathered in the centre of the village, in the Hasan Beqaj hamlet.

YA soldiers ordered the villagers to hand over all of their money, gold and gold coins. As R.K. testified, “Soldiers randomly took the money and valuables that we handed over to them. They tore and burned personal identification documents. The entire time they asked for money and gold coins.” After robbing all the valuables, the YA soldiers ordered the women, children and the elderly into houses of the Gashi family, while the men, about 50 of them, were held at a wider section of the road near the cemetery.

At around 9:00 o'clock, soldiers split the separated men into three groups. There were 12 men in the first group. They took this group into the house of Azem Gashi and into one of the rooms. Isa Gashi, who was in this group, told HLC researches what happened then:

“They put me and my group in the house of Azem Gashi, lined us up against the wall in one of the rooms and searched us again in order to find money which they asked us for in exchange for our freedom. However, they did not find anything as they had already taken it all. One of them said that he must ask the Commander what to do with us and when he asked over the radio, the answer he received was “kill them all at once”. One of the soldiers, who was standing in the doorway with an M-48 machine gun fired a burst of gunfire, injuring me in the left leg. I fell down after that. The dead bodies of Ibër Kelmendi and my brother Halim Gashi fell on top of me. Before he shot at us he yelled: “In the name of Serbia!” Then, the other soldiers opened fire all over the room. After that, they set the house on fire and prepared to leave the room. I pulled myself from under the dead bodies and realized that nobody from my group was alive.”

Several minutes later, burning foam rubber was thrown through the window into the room where the dead civilians were. The bodies burned quickly.

There were 9 men in the second group. YA soldiers took these men to the house of Dema Gashi. The men entered the hallway of the house, two by two. At that time, one YA soldier threw a lighter on the floor and ordered Rexhi Kelmendi to lift it up from the floor and set the curtains on fire. When Rexhë bent down to pick up the lighter, the YA soldier let off a burst of gunfire at the civilians. Rexhë Kelmendi saved himself by managing to run away into another room and then jumping through the window. When he went back to the house several hours later, it had been burned out and “when [he] entered the hallway [he] saw the burned bodies.”

There were 10 men in the third group. YA soldiers took the third group to the house of Sahit Gashi. They took them inside a room and ordered them to sit down on the floor and then a YA soldier fired at them from a machine gun. After several minutes, YA soldiers put foam rubber on the bodies of executed men and then set them alight. Hazir Berisha, who survived the execution, told HLC researchers: “The gunfire was constant. The man who was shooting was tall and he had a painted face. When he shot me I could see him setting a blanket on fire. Then, he took some foam rubber and placed it over us. Then, he lit the foam rubber.”

After the YA soldiers entered the hamlet of Çeku, they ordered the families of Hasan and Haxhi Çeku to gather in the yard of Kadri Çeku. When all family members had gathered there, the YA soldiers robbed them, taking money, gold and other valuables from them. Then, a YA soldier asked “Which one of you is the father of Agim Çeku?“ Hasan Çeku answered. Soldiers immediately ordered him to gather members of his family in one part of the yard. After that, two YA soldiers took Hasan (Brahim) Çeku (born 1930) to his barn, where they killed him by slitting his throat. Then they set the barn on fire. One soldier took K.C. (born 1930) into his house where he killed him and then set the house on fire.

On the same day, the Serbian forces killed eight more men in different parts of Ćuška/Qyshk.

Zoran Rašković, a soldier of the 177^th MTD Peć and a witness to the mass executions in Ćuška/Qyshk, described the crime during his testimony in the Ćuška case:

“It was May 14^th – Ćuška, 8 o’clock in the morning … Mrtvi [the late. Minić Nebojša] told me to take him to the Command, to Toplica [Miladinović, Commander of 177^th MTD Peć]. … I took him there and Mrtvi stayed there for about 40 minutes, 30-40 minutes, in the vehicle. He did not say anything to me. We went back and then he said very briefly “let’s move, get ready to move”… and we started moving along the highway towards Priština. After some 3 to 4 kilometers on the right side, there is an exit, an exit going to the village of Ćuška…we arrived at a place with a rest area, it was some sort of a square, I would say…. We stopped there as we ran into about 10 soldiers of the Territorial Defence reserve unit three, two or three of them were in blue uniforms, the camouflage blue police uniforms, I do not know if they were active or reserve police, I do not know….We stopped there, Mrtvi went to them, talked to them, the vehicles were parked and then we got back on the move.

Then, according to some regular [plan], since this was not the first operation of such kind, though I never knew and it was never known how far we would go, now I am talking about executions. I did not know. We split into four groups … and the groups went in four different direction while Mrtvi went in the direction we came from, from where we entered the village. I stayed by the vehicle as always, more or less. with five soldiers in the center.

And as Mrtvi and Vampir were leaving, two Shiptars, older men, mid-life, at that time I thought they were older, they were maybe 45 years old, they aked if we needed them to find something ... when Vampir, without any warning, I do not know if Mrtvi told him that or he just did it, but he cut them and left them by the side of the road. So they left and all four groups went each in a different direction.

Nobody fired at us, I did not see any terrorists, it was a sunny morning and they spread out around the village. And then, Your Honour, the battle started. The shooting manifested by bursts of gunfire coming from different sides, east, west, north, south, and then the hay since it is easiest to see hay burning. I am talking about this from my position in the center of the village. Then, women, children, the elderly, refugees, could be seen pulling bags, suitcases, children screaming, the elderly gathering…..bags were being kicked and they started gathering together in the center.

Tractors came, people who knew how to drive were driving tractors and other people were getting on the tractors, TAM trucks, all going to Albania. Not everybody could get on the vehicles, so they were waiting on them. At that time, there were also soldiers there and then suddenly a NATO plane flew over us…..which often hit civilians as well, as had been the case some ten days earlier, so in all this disarray the plane caused more panic among them and us additionally….I remember Bata Lekić, ripping off necklaces, asking for money, and all this forcing of people to the tractors and the gathering of people lasted for an hour or two. All these men needed to be put on tractors and then slowly the tractors started to leave and group leaders then came back with soldiers though some of them got separated. It was obvious that Buba [Zoran Obradović] was there, and he left with Ćale [Srećko Popović].

People were just wandering around the village, 15-20 houses were already on fire, the expulsion was in progress and the soldiers were returning from time to time, bringing some Shiptar civilian with them or removing some from the tractors if it was assessed that they were fit for military service. Mrtvi had a saying that everyone from the age of 13 to 77, and since 13 is an unlucky number, then it was from the age of 12. Some soldiers took it as a joke and some took it literally and then on the way back I saw Ćale, Srećko Popović, executing three Albanians, for Serbia, for Serbia…

So they were coming back and what I could see from this part where I was standing was that women, children, had already left. I was in that central square and I could see up there that 25 men were standing in a line alongside the road. Now I cannot tell you their exact age, one of them was very young, younger than me, but there were some who were older, at the age of 15, 30, 20. I did not count. It has been many years and the group was solid, whatever that means….

I approach them, 15 Shiptars were standing in line and Ranko “Bosanac” [Ranko Momić] was communicating with them. There were 10-15 of us there: “Let’s say “Jackals”,” Ranko “Bosanac” tells them – don’t be afraid, buses will arrive to transport you to the main police station in Peć.” While talking to one of them he is told “we did not lay a finger on anyone, what is this”, and then Ranko replied “I know, fuck it, it is a war, what can we do”, and he even gives him a cigarette to light up and says “in order to prevent those at the Peć Police Station from causing you any problems and from harrassing you” they had to put on a small rug or spread out tent to put there all they had in their pockets. They started throwing down personal ID cards, wallets, everything, everything, meaning watches, bracelets, rings, literally everything….

There was a child in the line as well, younger than me and “Mrtvi” told him to collect it all and pick up a backpack. I passed it to him so he could put it all in it. That child, I do not know how to describe to you his fear. He was shaking and he pissed and shitted himself because of fear but he still collected it. His image is very strongly imprinted in my memory, the incredible fear.

Ranko then told them “come on, let’s go to this house so we do not stand in the sun, you see there is shade there”, which was on the left side. The house was on the right side. The house only had a ground floor and did not have the Shiptar wall fence but rather an ordinary fence, a yard and some trees, something green, maybe walnut trees and Ranko started moving in a relaxed manner with his “AK-47” lowered down in front of everyone and says “let’s go, it is easier in the shade”. He is joined by “Šumadija” [Nikolić Milojko] and in the end he is joined by Mađa Vuković. The three of them led the entire group of fifteen men, they entered the yard, but did not stay in the yard but went to the porch and then slowly into the house.

The house was a Shiptar house, not a rich house, two rooms, maybe a hallway. They went inside and all that could be heard was burst fire, long bursts and after that some noise, a bang. The first one who ran out of the house was “Šumadija”, I remember that clearly. As he came out he said his typical curse “fucking mosque and mosque orchestra”. A round ricocheted and grazed his leg and pierced his overalls, but “Šumadija”, as usual, did not complain about the leg but about having his overalls pierced. Then, Ranko “Bosanac” came out, relaxed just like he was when he came in and lit a cigarette and then in the end the third one to come out was Mađo Vuković who had stayed in after them to set the house on fire, since smoke could already be seen. The young man who collected the valuables, was not put back in line. When he had collected everything, “Vampir” was there and put the barrel of his AK-47 to his head and then “Mrtvi” said “let him go” and “Vampir” said in surprise “why should I let him go”. “Let him go so there is someone to tell Shiptars about this”. “Mrtvi” would spare lives like that, it was like a custom to him. For example, he would let a Shiptar run down the field and would decide to shoot three rounds from a distance of some 200 meters. If he shot him than that’s how it would be, but if he didn’t he would only say “you see it was not his destiny, let him live…”

* The description of the crime is based on testimonies of survivors, eyewitnesses and victims' family members given to the Humanitarian Law Center, national courts or the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY); forensic reports; judgments and transcripts of trials; media reports and other documents.