Three Albanian boys lost their lives by drowning in the Ibar/Ibër River while trying to escape from a “group of young members of the Serbian community who were chasing them, the Kosovo Ministry of Interior (MUP) announced today. Its head, Xhelal Sveçla, visited the graves of the drowned children in the village of Çabra/Cabër in South Mitrovica/Mitrovicë e Jugut.
A milder phrasing than previously stated by his companion, the Mayor of South Mitrovica Faton Peci: “With great sorrow, we remember their barbaric drowning at the hands of Serbian criminal gangs, which touched the hearts of all Albanians,” said Peci.
Drowning of Albanian Children
On the afternoon of March 16, 2004, three Albanian boys from Çabra/Cabër, a village in the municipality of Zubin Potok, drowned in the Ibar/Ibër River. Immediately after the accident, Kosovo media reported this tragic event as an ethnically motivated crime, claiming that the boys had jumped into the river because they were being chased by Serbs with a dog.
Media reports relied on the statement of a fourth, surviving boy, the only witness to the incident, but it later became clear that the boy had spoken about how Serbs were shouting at them from a nearby house – which frightened him and his friends – and not that they were physically chased.
Later, following an investigation, the international prosecutor concluded that the evidence presented did not support a reasonable suspicion that a criminal act had occurred.
Investigations showed that the cause – the drowning of the Albanian boys – did not have a confirmed ethnic background, while media reporting at the time was irresponsible and sensationalist. Special responsibility was attributed to the Kosovo Public Service.
These facts were confirmed by several relevant domestic and international sources, but among part of the majority community, the interpretation that Serbs were responsible for the deaths of the children in Çabra/Cabër, as well as for the subsequent unrest, has persisted.
Aftermath
According to the Humanitarian Law Centre (FHP), in the wave of violence that followed the drowning of these boys – around 286 Serbian homes, more than 35 churches, monasteries, and cemeteries were destroyed or burned, and over 4,000 Serbs from southern Kosovo were displaced.
Approximately 51,000 participants in at least 33 separate incidents over 48 hours attacked Serbs across Kosovo, including Metohija/Dukagjini.
Initial reports indicated that eight Serbs and 11 Albanians were killed – the latter in clashes with American and French KFOR troops trying to stop the violence (mainly Human Rights Watch data). Later, FHP confirmed 23 victims, including one Albanian from Pristina/Prishtinë who has not been identified to this day.
According to FHP data collected in the months following the March violence, about 170 Serbs were seriously injured, 150 beaten in their homes and 20 attacked outdoors. Around 800 Serbian, 90 Ashkali, and two Albanian homes were completely destroyed or heavily damaged, and 36 Orthodox religious buildings were demolished and burned.
During the unrest, 72 UN vehicles were destroyed. In the UN Secretary-General’s report of April 2004, it is noted that 954 people were injured in the March violence, including 65 international police officers, 61 KFOR members, and 58 members of the then Kosovo Police Service (KPS).
Even after two decades, full accountability has not been established, and among part of the Albanian public, the narrative of Serbian responsibility continues to dominate, repeating messages that previously fueled violence, while broader analysis of all circumstances remains limited.
Media&Narratives of Vetëvendosje and Kosovo Authorities
With Vetëvendosje coming to power, the interpretation of the March violence is often based on a narrative in which Albanians are highlighted as victims, while Serbs are mainly portrayed negatively. According to this narrative, Albanian children are shown as victims while Serbs are depicted as their pursuers, and Albanian protests are portrayed as spontaneous, while Serbian victims are rarely or never mentioned.
Also, media analysis shows that information is often still presented uniformly and one-sidedly. On the twentieth anniversary of the event, the same public broadcaster published the same information that had originally triggered the violence, stating that the Albanian boys drowned “while fleeing from a group of young Serbs.”
Media reports from Koha, Gazeta Express, Ekonomia Online, Dukagjini, Albanian Post, and Zeri describe the March 2004 events this year, too, as the “March riots.” The unrest began on March 17 after reports that three Albanian children drowned in the Ibar River, allegedly while being chased by young Serbs. Initial violence targeted UNMIK.
During the riots, several Serbian houses and churches were burned, and similar attacks occurred against Albanian homes in Serbian-majority areas. Retaliatory acts also included the burning of several mosques in Serbia.
This way of presenting the events reflects selective highlighting of victims and political interpretation rather than a complete factual depiction of the March violence, which was one of the most severe ethnically motivated outbreaks in the post-war period.
The Mayor of South Mitrovica/Mitrovicë e Jugut Faton Peci (Vetëvendosje), who was with Sveçla in Çabra/Cabër, described the events as a “barbaric drowning by Serbian criminal gangs,” or “an organized group of Serbs,” and the protests as spontaneous, with demands for justice.
Similarly, Sveçla sees the drowning of the Albanian boys as one of the “darkest moments in recent Kosovo history,” preceding the events known as the March 2004 unrest.
“Minister Sveçla and Mayor Peci paid tribute at the graves of Egzon Deliu, Avni Veseli, and Florent Veseli, who lost their lives in the Ibar/Ibër River while trying to escape from a group of young members of the Serbian community chasing them,” the Kosovo MUP stated.
At the same time, Sveçla revived the narrative that emerged shortly after the initial shock of the March 16–17, 2004, violence, about the then “frustration of Albanians” due to Kosovo’s unresolved final status, which also led to a change in international policy from “Standards before Status” to “Standards and Status.”
“The event triggered immediate citizen reactions, which quickly turned into massive protests across the country. Due to a lack of adequate institutional organization and control, the protests escalated into violence, culminating in the March 2004 unrest that affected several cities in Kosovo/Kosovë.”
Citing the toll of those killed and the “significant material damage,” including the “destruction and damage of private property, as well as cultural and religious heritage sites,” Sveçla said:
“The events of March 2004 highlighted significant challenges in managing crisis situations and maintaining public order, in a context where Kosovo was under international administration and local institutions were still consolidating. Yet the dedication and professionalism of Kosovo Police personnel, who even in extraordinary circumstances demonstrated a willingness to protect the lives and property of all citizens without distinction, stand out.”
More than two decades later, Kosovo institutions have significantly enhanced their capacities to prevent and manage situations threatening public order and security.
“Today, the Kosovo Police is a professional institution prepared to respond to security challenges in line with modern standards. The memory of Egzon, Avni, and Florent, as well as all those who lost their lives during the March 2004 unrest, remains a lasting commitment to building and preserving peace, security, and coexistence in our country,” Sveçla said.
“The Kosovo Police Service (KPS) operated without command or guidance, so the actions of KPS members varied from place to place. Some police officers sided with the demonstrators and participated in property destruction or arrested Serbs and Ashkali defending themselves, while ignoring violence by Albanians. Most KPS members were passive observers and did not intervene even when demonstrators were beating Serbs. The third group consisted of police acting professionally to ensure safe evacuation, which some Serbs see as indirect participation in the expulsions, while others say it saved lives,” the Humanitarian Law Center reported in its report on the March violence.
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