A study by researchers from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia published in 2000 in medical journal the Lancet estimated that "12,000 deaths in the total population" could be attributed to war. [122], Morale was a serious problem for Serb forces; intelligence surveys found that many soldiers disagreed with their comrades' actions. [201] DLK politicians opposed the armed conflict and were not ready to accept KLA as a political factor in the region and tried to persuade the population not to support it. On 15 January 1999 the Račak massacre occurred when "45 Kosovan Albanian farmers were rounded up, led up a hill and massacred". [110] Early in 1998, US envoy Robert Gelbard referred to the KLA as terrorists;[111] responding to criticism, he later clarified to the House Committee on International Relations that "while it has committed 'terrorist acts,' it has 'not been classified legally by the U.S. Government as a terrorist organization.
"[178] The distinction between the legality and legitimacy of the intervention was further highlighted in two separate reports. ), Around 1,500 Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers were killed, according to KLA's own estimates. It concluded that "the NATO military intervention was illegal but legitimate",[180] The second report was published by the NATO Office of Information and Press[181] which reported that, "the human rights violations committed on a large scale in Kosovo provide an incontestable ground with reference to the humanitarian aspect of NATO's intervention. '"[109] In June 1998, he held talks with two men who claimed they were political leaders of the KLA. This led missiles being fitted to Predator drones in Afghanistan, reducing the "sensor to shooter" time to virtually zero. [207] FARK was never a determining factor in the war and was not involved in any battles. At the same time, Western diplomats insisted that Kosovo be discussed, and that Yugoslavia be responsive to Albanian demands there. On 18 March 1999, the Albanian, US, and British delegations signed what became known as the Rambouillet Accords, while the Yugoslav and Russian delegations refused. [70] After the war, a list was compiled which documented that over 13,500 people were killed or went missing during the two year conflict. [citation needed] For women between 15–49 the estimate is that there were 510 victims; older than 50 years the estimate is 541 victims. Il governo del Kosovo dichiara l'indipendenza dalla Serbia. [34][35] NATO has since[when?] 77 bodies were found in the eastern Serbian town of Petrovo Selo. I.B. In 2001, then-President Vojislav Koštunica "fought tooth and nail" against attempts to put Milošević before an international court but was unable to prevent this happening after further atrocities were revealed.[263]. [227] The estimate of 10,000 deaths is used by the US Department of State, which cited human rights abuses as its main justification for attacking Yugoslavia. [74] Serbia became home to the highest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in Europe.