Serb accused of 1999 massacre of 130 men arrested in Kosovo

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PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo’s police on Wednesday arrested a Serb who is accused of war crimes during the 1998-1999 war.

A statement from the prosecutor’s office said the Serb, identified only as M.A., is suspected of taking part in the massacre at Izbice, a village 70 kilometers (40 miles) west of the capital, Pristina. It did not say when, where or how the Serb was arrested.

The Izbice massacre occurred on March 28, 1999, when Serb police, military and paramilitary forces found thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees in a meadow outside the village. They stole money and other valuables before separating the men from the women and children. The 130 men were then divided into two groups and shot dead.

The massacre was part of the indictment against late Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic.

Kosovo was a Serb province until a 1998-1999 insurrection by ethnic Albanian rebels sparked a bloody Serbian crackdown. That pushed NATO to carry out a 78-day bombing campaign to force Serbian troops out of Kosovo. The war left more than 10,000 people dead.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Serbia has not recognized it.

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