16 February 1999 - Attack on the "Niš Ekspres" bus in Livadice near Podujevo: KLA attacked a Serbian bus, 12 Serbs killed, 43 wounded

16 February 1999, 17:15 - The "Niš Ekspres" bus attacked

16 February 1999, 17:15 - The "Niš Ekspres" bus (Niš - Priština line) was attacked in the village of Livadice, 15 km from Priština. The bus was carrying 56 passengers - mostly Serbs returning from work (Priština was the administrative center of Kosovo, and many Serbs worked there but lived in Niš or other cities in Serbia).

At 17:15, as the bus was passing through the village of Livadice (known as an Albanian enclave - 98% Albanian), a group of 5-7 armed KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) terrorists opened fire with automatic rifles (AK-47) and threw hand grenades into the bus.

The attack lasted 3-5 minutes. The terrorists fired from the forest beside the road - the bus had no chance to escape because the road was narrow and winding. The bus driver (Dragan Đokić, 42 years old) tried to accelerate and flee, but was hit in the arm - and kept driving anyway (pulling the bus out of the attack zone), which probably saved many lives.

12 Serbs killed (10 at once, 2 later from their injuries), 43 wounded (19 seriously - some of whom later died, but the official toll remained 12). Among the victims: women, children, the elderly - all civilians returning from work.

Chronology of the attack - Minute by minute

17:15 - The attack begins: The bus enters the village of Livadice (known as an Albanian enclave - 98% Albanian). The road is narrow, winding, with forest on both sides. A perfect place for an ambush.

Suddenly, from the forest on the right side of the road, 5-7 armed KLA terrorists opened fire with automatic rifles (AK-47). The passengers on the bus began to shout, fall, hide under the seats.

The terrorists targeted the windows of the bus - bullet after bullet pierced the glass and struck the passengers. Some passengers were hit in the head, chest, stomach - they died instantly. Others were wounded in the arms, legs - but survived.

Hand grenades - During the gunfire, the terrorists threw 2-3 hand grenades into the bus (through the broken windows). One grenade exploded in the middle of the bus - killing 3-4 passengers (shrapnel in all directions). Another grenade did not explode (a defect or it was not armed).

Driver Dragan Đokić (42 years old) - a hero: The driver was hit in the right arm (the bullet passed through his neck and arm), but he kept driving. He accelerated the bus and pulled it out of the attack zone. If it had not been for him, all the passengers would probably have been killed (the terrorists would have kept firing until everyone was dead). Đokić saved the bus - and most of the passengers.

Testimonies of survivors

"Suddenly I heard gunfire - from the forest. At first I thought they were firecrackers (I heard a crackling), but then I saw the glass shattering - and I realized we were being attacked. People began to fall - blood everywhere. I dropped to the floor - I hid under the seat. I heard a hand grenade explode - a sound like thunder. I thought I was going to die. But the bus kept moving - the driver pulled us out. He is a hero."

"I was sitting with my daughter (8 years old). Suddenly - gunfire. The glass was shattering, people were screaming. I threw myself onto my daughter - to shield her with my body. A bullet passed by my head - it pierced the seat behind me. My daughter survived - but the woman next to us (I don't know who she was) died - a bullet to the head. I saw her fall - eyes open, blood. It is horrifying. My daughter asked me 'Mama, why did they attack us?' I didn't know what to say."

"I was in the rear of the bus - far from the windows. I heard gunfire - then I saw people falling. Blood was spattering - over the seats, windows, floor. Suddenly - an explosion (a hand grenade). A sound as if my head had exploded. Shrapnel flew past me - one piece hit the man in front of me in the neck - he died instantly. I survived - but I have scars on my arms (shrapnel). And nightmares - every night I see that explosion."

"My husband (Slobodan, 52 years old) was sitting by the window - the right side. A bullet passed through the window and hit him in the chest. He fell onto me - blood everywhere. He cried out 'Help!' - but then he fell silent. He died in my arms - in 2-3 minutes. There was nothing I could do. I just held him until he died. It is the worst experience of my life. Every time I see a bus - I remember it. And I will never forget."

Driver Dragan Đokić - The hero who saved the bus

Dragan Đokić (42 years old) - driver of the "Niš Ekspres" bus - a hero of 16 February 1999. During the attack, Đokić was hit in the right arm (the bullet passed through his neck and arm), but he kept driving.

When the terrorists opened fire, Đokić could have stopped the bus and fled (saving only himself) - but he did not. Instead, he accelerated the bus and pulled it out of the attack zone. This took 3-5 minutes (the terrorists kept firing until the bus was out of range).

After the attack, Đokić drove the bus to the hospital in Priština (10 km) - even though he was wounded and bleeding. Only when he reached the hospital did he allow the doctors to examine him. He said: "Help the passengers first - I can wait."

Dragan Đokić survived the attack - but with permanent damage to his health (partial paralysis of the arm). After the attack, he never drove a bus again (PTSD - post-traumatic stress disorder). He died in 2017 (aged 60) - of a heart attack (many believe that the stress of the attack contributed to it).

2009 - Dragan Đokić was decorated with the Order of Bravery by the Republic of Serbia (posthumously, after his death in 2017). His family received the medal. At the ceremony, the President of Serbia said: "Dragan Đokić saved dozens of lives on 16 February 1999. He is a hero. And we will never forget."

Who was on the bus? (Profile of the victims)

Most of the passengers on the bus were Serbs who worked in Priština (the administrative center of Kosovo) but lived in Niš, Belgrade or other cities in Serbia. Every day, the "Niš Ekspres" bus carried 50-100 people (2-3 buses a day) between Niš and Priština.

Why did Serbs work in Priština but live in Niš? Because in 1999 Kosovo was very unsafe for Serbs - the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) was attacking Serb civilians (robberies, killings, abductions). Many Serbs were forced to leave Kosovo (or to live in Niš and come to Priština only for work).

4 Albanians were also on the bus - but the terrorists did not fire on them (selective fire - only on the Serbs). One Albanian (name unknown) later testified: "The terrorists knew who was a Serb - they fired only on those on the right side of the bus (where the Serbs were sitting). The left side (where I was sitting with a few other Albanians) was not fired upon."

Why was the bus attacked? (Context - a month before the NATO bombing)

16 February 1999 - The attack on the "Niš Ekspres" bus took place a month before the NATO bombing (NATO began on 24 March 1999). That is no coincidence - the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) knew that NATO would soon attack Serbia, so they intensified their terrorist attacks on Serb civilians (to provoke a reaction from the Serbian police/army, which would justify a NATO intervention).

January-February 1999 - The KLA intensified its attacks on Serb civilians in Kosovo:

• 15 January 1999 - The massacre in Račak (45 Albanians killed - the KLA claims Serbian police killed civilians, Serbia claims they were KLA terrorists in civilian clothing)
• 29 January 1999 - Attack on the Serbian police in Štimlje (3 police officers killed)
• 5 February 1999 - Attack on a Serb family in Klina (4 Serbs killed)
• 16 February 1999 - Attack on the "Niš Ekspres" bus (12 Serbs killed)
• 24 March 1999 - The NATO bombing begins

The aim of the KLA attacks was to provoke the Serbian police/army into reacting (which NATO would use as a "humanitarian catastrophe" and use to justify an intervention). And that is what happened - after the massacre in Račak (15 January 1999), NATO began to prepare the bombing. The attack on the "Niš Ekspres" (16 February) was additional "proof" (for NATO) that the Serbs were "terrorizing the Albanians" - even though in this case it was Albanian terrorists who attacked Serb civilians.

The reaction of the Serbian government and media

16 February 1999, 18:00 - The President of Serbia (Slobodan Milošević) learned of the attack. He ordered the police to arrest the terrorists - but the terrorists had already fled (into the mountains or across the border into Albania).

17 February 1999 - The Serbian media reported the news of the attack. The newspapers (Politika, Večernje novosti) published photographs from the bus - blood on the seats, shattered windows, shrapnel from the hand grenades. TV RTS broadcast footage from the hospital - the wounded passengers, doctors, families of the victims.

The Western media (BBC, CNN) ignored the attack - or published brief reports (without details, without pictures). The reason: The Western media were focused on "Serbian crimes against the Albanians" (the Račak massacre, 15 January 1999), so they did not want to report on Albanian terrorist attacks on Serb civilians (that would have shifted the narrative).

19 February 1999 - The funeral of the 12 victims in Niš. More than 10,000 people came to lay flowers. President Milošević did not attend (he sent a government representative). The families of the victims were angry - they demanded that the terrorists be arrested and prosecuted. But that never happened.

After the NATO bombing - Impunity

24 March - 10 June 1999 - The NATO bombing of Serbia (78 days). After the bombing, the NATO force (KFOR) entered Kosovo (10 June 1999) - and de facto handed Kosovo over to the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army).

The KLA terrorists who attacked the "Niš Ekspres" were never arrested. The reason:

• KFOR (the NATO force in Kosovo) did not cooperate with the Serbian police (they refused to arrest the KLA terrorists)
• UNMIK (the UN administration in Kosovo) did not open an investigation (they ignored Serbia's requests)
• The Hague Tribunal (ICTY) did not indict a single KLA terrorist for the attack on the "Niš Ekspres" (the focus was on Serbian crimes)

2008 - Kosovo declared independence. The KLA terrorists became "heroes of the war of liberation" - some became politicians (Hashim Thaçi, a former KLA commander, became President of Kosovo 2016-2020).

The families of the victims of the attack on the "Niš Ekspres" never received justice. The terrorists were never arrested. Never prosecuted. Never convicted. This is impunity - the double standards of Western "justice".