TIRANA, June 11 – Today marks 27 years since the withdrawal of Serbian military and paramilitary forces from Kosova. The event ended Serbian control over the territory.
Serbian forces withdrew after sustained resistance from the Kosovo Liberation Army on the ground. NATO air operations also contributed to the outcome. The withdrawal followed a capitulation agreement signed on June 9 1999 in Kumanova.
Michael Jackson, the first commander of KFOR in Kosova, signed the agreement. Nebojsha Pavkovic, then Chief of Staff of the Yugoslav Army, also signed it. Pavkovic later faced indictment at The Hague for war crimes and genocide in Kosova.
The agreement required the removal from Kosova of all military-capable personnel and organisations. It included regular army units, naval forces, air forces, border police, military police, intelligence services, and paramilitary formations. It also included armed civilians and all structures of the Yugoslav Interior Ministry. KFOR oversight extended to all special units and anti-terror formations identified in the framework of the agreement.
The agreement established a 25 kilometre air safety zone beyond Kosova’s borders. It also set a 5 kilometre ground zone where heavy weapons and military units were not allowed, except for border personnel.
NATO air operations lasted 78 days. They ended on June 10. NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark reported to the North Atlantic Council that air strikes had forced the withdrawal of Serbian forces from Kosova.
Following NATO entry into Kosova, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosova (UNMIK) began deployment. It administered the territory until the declaration of independence on February 17, 2008.
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