Kosovo's President, Vjosa Osmani, has said that 26 years after NATO bombings of police and military targets in the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo walks "proud, sovereign and unwavering towards a brighter future."
In a Facebook post, Osmani described March 24, 1999, as the day "the day when freedom took wings" and "the day when the democratic world did not remain silent."
"The day NATO allies stood up against evil, to protect a people fighting for existence, endangered by the genocidal regime of Serbia. It was the day the light of hope triumphed over darkness," she wrote.
She thanked the country's allies who helped "our cause for a free, independent and sovereign Kosovo."
NATO began attacks on military and police targets in the former Yugoslavia after the Recak massacre in March 1999.
After 78 days of attacks, the bombings ceased on June 10, 1999, with the Kumanovo Technical Agreement, which provided for the withdrawal of all Serbian military and police forces from Kosovo.
The agreement was followed by the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244.
This Resolution was a compromise of the five permanent members of the Security Council, based on which a United Nations administration – UNMIK – was established in Kosovo, which administered the transitional phase until the establishment of local institutions and the permanent resolution of Kosovo's status.
On June 12, 1999, the deployment of approximately 50,000 soldiers from 36 countries around the world began, of which 30,000 were from NATO countries.
The NATO peacekeeping mission, KFOR, is still present today and ensures the security of Kosovo.
In the war in Kosovo in 1998-1999, over 13,000 civilians were killed and thousands more disappeared.
Over 1,600 people are still missing – most of them Albanians./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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