Drenica

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This article is about a region in Kosovo. For a river in Kosovo, see Drenica River.

Drenica (Albanian: Drenica or Drenicë; Serbian: Дреница), also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering 1200 square kilometers. Located west of the capital Priština, its population of 110,000 (1991 Census) is almost entirely Albanian^{[citation needed]} even prior to 1998.^{[citation needed]}

The region comprises the municipalities of Glogovac and Srbica, with these cities being at the same time the respective municipal capitals and major population centers of each municipality. A popular attraction is the Çiçavica Mountains, located northeast of Glogovac.

Traditionally this region showed strong resistance to any of the regimes installed in Kosovo by force, since Turkish rule in the Balkans until recently during Kosovo War of 1999. It is sometimes called The Heart of Kosovo due to its location on the map and its strong resistance towards foreign occupying forces in the past. The villages that surround the two towns are the birthplace of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which began armed operations in Drenica in 1996. A KLA stronghold, the region saw many armed conflicts with Serbian police and military forces organized by Slobodan Milošević. By 1997, Albanians had begun to call Drenica a "liberated territory" because of the high local KLA presence. The hilltop village of Likovac served as regional headquarters for the KLA until the Serbs recaptured it in an offensive in September 1998. The area around Çiçavica also saw activity between Serb forces and the 114th Brigade of the KLA.

Yugoslav army and paramilitary units used a Feronikel plant near Glogovac as a base for operations from 1998 to 1999. Before the war, the factory produced nickel and ore. After the Albanian workers were laid off or expelled, it was also used as a barracks and a fire base, in which cannons and rockets were fired against KLA positions. The plant was bombed by NATO forces on April 29, 1999, causing an unknown number of casualties and extensive damage.

Not surprisingly, Drenica is also the scene of some of the worst abuses against civilians in Kosovo.