Gornje Obrinje massacre

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The Gornje Obrinje massacre (Albanian: Masakra në Abri të Epërme) is the name generally used to refer to the killing of Albanians allegedly committed by Serbian forces in the central Kosovo village of Gornje Obrinje on 26th September 1998, during operations against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) predating the Kosovo war. The Yugoslav Army and Serbian police had been deployed in the area for several months in a major offensive against the KLA, which had assumed loose control of an estimated one-third of the province.

Between 18 to 21 members of the Delijaj family were murdered in a forest hideout, some of them burnt to death. Many of the victims were women and children.^[1] Local people said the killings had been carried out by Serbian police. The Yugoslav government denied responsibility for the atrocities.^[2]

International political pressure on the Yugoslav government to end its crackdown in Kosovo was accelerated by news of these killings, leading to a new resolution issued by the United Nations Security Council on 24 October 1998, calling for the deployment of the Diplomatic Verification Mission and an end to hostilities.