Podujevo bus bombing
| Podujevo bus bombing | |
|---|---|
 Location of the attack |
|
| Location | near Podujevo, Kosovo, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia |
| Date | February 16, 2001 |
| Target | Serbs |
| Attack type | bombing |
| Deaths | 12 |
| Injured | 44 |
| Perpetrator(s) | Allegedly ethnic Albanian [1] |
The Podujevo bus bombing was a attack on a civilian bus in a Serb-populated area near the town of Podujevo in Kosovo on 16 February 2001 allegedly by ethnic Albanian [1][2]. Twelve Serb civilians who were on route to the Gračanica monastery site were killed and dozens more injured.
Gračanica is a predominantly Serb-populated town in central Kosovo, near the regional capital Pristina, in a predominantly Albanian-populated area. Following the Kosovo War in 1999 it became an enclave within Albanian-controlled territory. Relations between the two communities were tense and occasionally violent.
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[edit] The attack
On 16 February 2001, a bus carrying Serb civilians on a "commemoration mission" to family graves in Albanian-controlled territory was destroyed by a roadside bomb at a spot near Podujevo, en route to Gracanica. It was one in a convoy of five buses carrying 250 people from the city of Niš, escorted by armoured personnel carriers from the Swedish contingent of the KFOR peacekeeping force. According to KFOR's regional commander, the bomb comprised between 100-200 lb of high explosive, detonated using a command wire.[3].
[edit] Aftermath
Of the 56 passengers on the bus, twelve were killed and all the remainder very seriously injured, along with several bystanders and passengers on other buses who were hit by shrapnel from the blast. The final death toll took some time to establish due to difficulties in identifying the number of bodies. Amongst the dead were the bus staff and two children, as well as several women.
The relief operation and investigation was undertaken by British and Ukrainian peacekeeping units. Six other bombs were discovered and defused nearby. The local KFOR commander, British Brigadier Robert Fry, conferred with both Serbian and Kosovar leaders, and although there were protests in the town following the blast, they were largely peaceful. The blast had angered Serbian officials and the community, who had endured numerous attacks by Kosovar Albanians in recent months. They demanded that the UCPMB stop its attacks, and that KFOR do a better job of monitoring the situation in future.
Five Albanian men were arrested for the attack[2], but they were not charged with anything.[citation needed] Four men were later suspected of committing the attack, but they escaped from a U.S. detention facility in 2002 and have not since been charged with any crime.[citation needed]
One Albanian, Florim Ejupi, was convicted in 2008 of planting the bomb and sentenced to 40 years in prison.[4] However, he was released on March 13, 2009.[5]
On June 5, 2009, EULEX's chief prosecutor has announced that the EU mission has opened a new inquest into the case that had be given to the special prosecutor's office in charge of war crimes cases[6].
[edit] References
- ^ a b BBC News
- ^ a b Jennings, Christian (2001-03-28). "SAS troops seize Kosovo bomb suspects". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1328191/SAS-troops-seize-Kosovo-bomb-suspects.html. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
- ^ "Ruthless murder of Serbs on road to family graves", The Birmingham Post, 17 February 2001
- ^ http://www.javno.com/en-world/kosovo-albanian-gets-40-years-for-serb-bus-bombing_154191
- ^ 'Panel frees Albanian jailed for Kosovo bus bombing' R
- ^ http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=06&dd=05&nav_id=59615
