Kosova Liberation Army
| Kosovo Liberation Army Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës |
|
|---|---|
| Participant in Kosovo War | |
 |
|
| Active | 1991 – 1999 (est. 1992–93 but relatively passive until 1996) |
| Leaders |
Hashim Thaçi Bilall Syla LKCK Zahir Pajaziti Adem Jashari Agim Çeku Fatmir Limaj Ramush Haradinaj Bekim Berisha Agim Ramadani † |
| Area of operations | Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia |
| Strength | 12,000–20,000 or 25,000–45,000 |
| Became | Kosovo Protection Corps |
| Allies | Albania, NATO |
| Opponents | Yugoslavia |
| Battles and wars | |
The Kosovo Liberation Army (abbreviated KLA; Albanian: Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës—UÇK) was an ethnic-Albanian paramilitary organisation that sought the separation of Kosovo from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the 1990s and the eventual creation of a Greater Albania. Its campaign against Yugoslav security forces, police, government officers and ethnic Serb villages precipitated a major crackdown by the Yugoslav military and Serb paramilitaries within Kosovo known as the Kosovo War of 1998–99. The KLA was supported by foreign volunteers, including Islamists from Western Europe of ethnic Albanian, Turkish, and North African origin who were organized by Islamist leaders in Western Europe allied to Bin Laden and Zawahiri. along with Yemeni fighters with Saudis and Egyptians, reportedly funded by Islamist organizations. The Kosovo war ultimately featured a military campaign by NATO against FRY armed forces during March–June 1999.
In 1999, with the fighting over and an international force in place within Kosovo, the KLA was officially disbanded and their members entered the Kosovo Protection Corps, a civilian emergency protection body that replaced the KLA and Kosovo Police Force, as foreseen in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244. Former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders also entered politics, some of them winning high-ranking offices.
There have been many reports of abuses and war crimes committed by the KLA during and after the conflict, such as massacres of civilians, prison camps, and destruction of medieval churches and monuments. In April 2014, the Assembly of Kosovo considered and approved the establishment of a special court to try cases involving crimes and other serious abuses committed in 1999-2000 by members of the KLA.
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