Vitina

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Vitina/ Viti
town and municipality
Viti / Vitia
Витина / Vitina
Vitia.JPG
Vitina/ Viti is located in Kosovo
Vitina/ Viti
Vitina/ Viti
Location in Kosovo
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Country Kosovo[lower-alpha 1]
District District of Gjilan
Government
 • Mayor Sokol Haliti
Area
 • Total 270 km2 (100 sq mi)
Elevation 499 m (1,637 ft)
Population (2014)
 • Total 47,434
 • Density 180/km2 (460/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 61000
Area code(s) +381 280
Car plates 06
Website Municipality of Vitina

Vitina or Vitia (Albanian: Viti, Vitia, Serbian: Витина/Vitina) is a town and municipality in the District of Gjilan of south-eastern Kosovo.[lower-alpha 1]

Municipality

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History

A protest in Vitina, monitored by KFOR troops, January 2000.

Ottoman period

The municipality has several settlements historically inhabited by the Laramans, crypto-Catholics.

Yugoslav period

During Yugoslavia, it was known as Kosovska Vitina.

Kosovo War and aftermath

Following the 1999 Kosovo War, it was the home of A Company, 2/505 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, the first KFOR troops to begin stabilization efforts in the municipality. After the initial unit left, Vitina was the site of a subsequent international scandal when a Staff Sgt. Frank J. Ronghi, from A company, 3/504 Parachute Infantry Regiment raped and killed a local girl. The subsequent investigation uncovered serious training and leadership deficiencies in the 3/504 Parachute Infantry Regiment, and catalysed a tremendous change in the training of units deploying for peacekeeping operations.[1]

During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the Orthodox cemetery in Vitina and the village of Dobreš were hit by missiles.[2]

In August 2003, explosive devices planted in Klokot destroyed five Serb houses, with several injuries, including two American KFOR soldiers.[3]

Serbian Orthodox cemeteries have been destroyed in Vitina, among other towns, and in 2004, nuns of the Binča monastery were physically attacked, by ethnic Albanians.[4]

Contemporary

In 2013, a Kosovo Albanian crowd demolished a Yugoslav-era memorial for anti-fascist Partisans that were killed during the Second World War. Members of the Kosovo Police were present but did nothing to intervene. The incident was filmed and posted to YouTube.[5]

Demographics

Ethnic Composition, Including IDPs
Year/Population Albanian  % Serbs  % Croats  % Roma  % Total
1961 20,496 60.92 10,442 31.04 2,077 6.17 21 33,642
1971 26,927 67.69 9,649 24.26 2,613 6.57 126 0.32 39,780
1981 35,105 73.38 8,369 17.49 3,722 7.78 229 0.49 47,839
1991 45,078 78.68 7,002 12.22 4,331 7.56 373 0.65 57,290
2011 46 669 99,3 113 0,24 70 0,1 26 46 987
Reference: Yugoslav population census data, and the 2011 census in Kosovo.

See also

Notes and references

Notes:

  1. 1.0 1.1 Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels Agreement. Kosovo has been recognised as an independent state by 108 out of 193 United Nations member states.

References:

  1. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/02/world/us-sergeant-gets-life-in-murder-of-kosovo-girl-11.html%7Cdate=May 2008
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External links

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