Mental Health, Social Functioning, and Attitudes of Kosovar Albanians Following the War in Kosovo

Abstract

In late February 1998, clashes in Kosovo between Serbian police forces and members of the Kosovo Liberation Army intensified.¹ Serbian forces burned homes and killed dozens of ethnic Albanians in these raids. As a result of the fighting, thousands of ethnic Albanians were displaced from their homes in Kosovo; many took refuge with host families, while a smaller proportion (several thousands) fled to the hills and forests.¹ By the time North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations began against Serbia on March 24, 1999, about 260,000 people had been displaced within Kosovo and 199,000 had fled to other countries.² It is estimated that as result of this conflict, more than 800,000 people became refugees in neighboring countries (mainly Albania, Montenegro, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), as well as secondary countries of asylum in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere. On June 9, 1999, an agreement between NATO and Serbia was reached, and the following day NATO halted its bombing campaign.