KLA terrorists - Perpetrators of the attack on the "Niš Ekspres" (16 February 1999): Never arrested, never prosecuted, impunity

Who were the terrorists? (KLA - Kosovo Liberation Army)

The KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) - an Albanian paramilitary organization founded in 1996 with the goal of separating Kosovo from Serbia (and eventually uniting it with Albania - the idea of a "Greater Albania").

Before 1999, the KLA was classified as a terrorist organization by the USA, UN and EU. The reason: The KLA used terrorist methods - attacks on Serb civilians (robberies, killings, abductions), attacks on the Serbian police/army (ambushes, bombs), drugs (the KLA financed itself through the heroin trade from Albania to Western Europe).

But after the NATO bombing (24 March - 10 June 1999), NATO "renamed" the KLA - from a "terrorist organization" to a "liberation movement" ("freedom fighters"). Why? Because NATO needed an alibi for bombing Serbia - and the KLA was the perfect alibi ("The Serbs are terrorizing the Albanians → NATO must intervene").

Who ordered the attack on the "Niš Ekspres"?

The exact identity of the terrorists who attacked the "Niš Ekspres" (16 February 1999) has never been confirmed - because the Serbian police did not manage to arrest the terrorists (they fled immediately after the attack), and KFOR/UNMIK (NATO/UN in Kosovo) refused to cooperate with the Serbian police after 1999.

But there are indications of who was responsible:

• The KLA "Drenica" unit - a KLA unit active in the Podujevo/Livadice region (where the attack took place)
• Commander: Ramush Haradinaj - KLA commander of the "Drenica" zone (Podujevo, Peć, Đakovica)
• Participants (estimate): 5-7 KLA terrorists (automatic rifles, hand grenades)

Ramush Haradinaj - KLA commander of the "Drenica" zone (which includes Podujevo, where the attack on the "Niš Ekspres" took place). Haradinaj was responsible for all KLA operations in that zone - including terrorist attacks on Serb civilians.

After the NATO bombing (1999), Haradinaj was not arrested - instead, he became a politician:

• 2004-2005: Prime Minister of Kosovo
• 2017-2020: Prime Minister of Kosovo (again)
• 2005: The Hague Tribunal (ICTY) indicted him for war crimes - but he was acquitted (2008, 2012) - the evidence "disappeared"

Haradinaj was never indicted for the attack on the "Niš Ekspres" - even though he was the commander of the zone where the attack took place. The reason: The Hague Tribunal focused on Serbian crimes, not Albanian ones.

Why were the terrorists never arrested?

16 February 1999, 18:00 - The Serbian police arrived at the scene of the attack (Livadice, Podujevo) - but the terrorists had already fled (into the mountains or across the border into Albania). The police found shell casings from automatic rifles (AK-47), traces of hand grenades - but the terrorists had vanished.

February-March 1999 - The Serbian police tried to find the terrorists - they searched Albanian villages in the Podujevo region, questioned Albanian civilians - but no one "knew" who the terrorists were (or they did not want to say - fear of KLA reprisals).

24 March 1999 - NATO begins the bombing of Serbia. The investigation into the attack on the "Niš Ekspres" was interrupted - because Serbia was under bombs (impossible to conduct an investigation while NATO was dropping bombs).

10 June 1999 - The NATO force (KFOR) enters Kosovo. UNMIK (the UN administration) takes control. Serbia demands that KFOR/UNMIK arrest the KLA terrorists who attacked the "Niš Ekspres" - but KFOR/UNMIK refuse (they say they "have no evidence").

2000-2024 - Serbia continues to demand the arrest of the terrorists - but KFOR/UNMIK still refuse. Result: 26 years later (2025), no one has been arrested.

The Hague Tribunal - Ignored the KLA terrorists

The Hague Tribunal (ICTY - the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) was established in 1993 to prosecute war crimes in Yugoslavia (1991-1999). But the Hague Tribunal was focused on Serbian crimes - not on Croatian, Muslim or Albanian ones.

2000 - Serbia submitted a request to the Hague Tribunal to indict the KLA terrorists for the attack on the "Niš Ekspres" (16 February 1999). The Hague Tribunal rejected the request - it said that it "does not indict individuals for isolated incidents, but commanders for systematic crimes".

But that was a lie - because the Hague Tribunal indicted many Serbian soldiers/police officers for "isolated incidents" (such as the massacre in Račak, 15 January 1999 - where 45 Albanians were killed). Double standards - Serbs prosecuted for "isolated incidents", Albanians not.

In total, the Hague Tribunal indicted:

• Serbs: 94 indicted (out of 161 in total) - 58% of all those indicted
• Croats: 29 indicted - 18%
• Bosniaks (Muslims): 9 indicted - 6%
• Albanians (KLA): 0 indicted (until 2015) - 0%

2015 - The Hague Tribunal finally indicted several KLA commanders (Hashim Thaçi, Ramush Haradinaj) - but not for the attack on the "Niš Ekspres", rather for other crimes (abductions, torture, the killing of Albanian "traitors"). And even those cases - most ended in acquittal (the evidence "disappeared", the witnesses killed or intimidated).

KLA terrorists became politicians in Kosovo

After the NATO bombing (1999), many KLA terrorists became politicians in Kosovo - instead of being prosecuted for war crimes, they became "heroes of the war of liberation".

Hashim Thaçi - KLA political commander (1998-1999). After the NATO bombing, he became the most powerful politician in Kosovo - Prime Minister (2008-2014), President (2016-2020). Thaçi was responsible for the KLA's terrorist attacks on Serb civilians (including the attack on the "Niš Ekspres" - although he was never indicted for that specific crime).

2020 - The Hague Special Court (established in 2015 to prosecute KLA crimes) indicted Thaçi for war crimes (torture, killings, the harvesting of organs from Serbian prisoners). Thaçi was arrested (November 2020) - currently in detention (The Hague) awaiting trial.

But Thaçi was never indicted for the attack on the "Niš Ekspres" (16 February 1999) - even though he was a KLA commander at the time. The reason: The Hague Special Court focused on "systematic crimes" (camps, torture), not on "isolated incidents" (such as the attack on a bus).

Impunity - The double standards of Western "justice"

Impunity - a situation in which the perpetrators of a crime are not punished. The KLA terrorists who attacked the "Niš Ekspres" (16 February 1999) were never arrested, prosecuted, convicted. This is impunity.

But the impunity was not accidental - it was the result of the double standards of Western "justice":

• Serbian criminals - prosecuted by the Hague Tribunal (94 indicted, many sentenced to decades in prison or life imprisonment)
• Albanian criminals (KLA) - never prosecuted (0 indicted until 2015, and even after 2015 - most acquitted)
• The reason: NATO needed "heroes" (the KLA) as an alibi for bombing Serbia (1999) - so it protected the KLA from prosecution

The families of the victims of the attack on the "Niš Ekspres" never received justice. 26 years later (2025), the terrorists have still not been arrested. It is an injustice - but it is the reality of Western "justice".