List of massacres in Albania
The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Albania (numbers may be approximate):
Ottoman Period
| Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massacres of Albanians in the Balkan Wars | 1912–1913 | throughout Albania | up to 100,000 Albanians killed or died[1][2] | Serbian, Greek and Montenegrin armies massacred Albanian civilians and many also died from hunger and sicknesses |
WWI
| Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hormova massacre | 29 April 1914 | Hormovë | 217 | Albanian men and boys were massacred by the Greek army in 1914.[3][4][5][6] |
| Massacre at Panariti | 10 July 1914 | Panarit | 375 | Albanians were massacred by Greek forces during WWI.[7][8][9] |
| Korça massacres | May 1914 | Korçë | hundreds | Multiple massacres occurred in the district of Korçë against Albanians by Greek soldiers.[10] |
WWII
| Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borovë massacre | 9 July 1943 | Borovë | 107 | Nazi German forces killed civilians as a reprisal for a partisan attack[11] |
| 4 February 1944 Tirana massacre | 4 February 1944 | Tirana | 86 | Police units under Interior Minister Xhafer Deva, collaborating with the Gestapo, killed 86 suspected anti-fascist residents[12] |
Communist Period
| Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communist purges in Albania in 1944 | November 1944 | Tirana | over 150 political and religious executions | Killing of intellectuals and Catholic clergy after the liberation of Albania |
| Elimination of opposition in 1947 | 1947 | Tirana | 16 | Killing of 16 non-communists in opposition[13] |
| Qafë-Valmir massacre | 17 August 1949 | Qafë e Valmirit, Mirditë | 14 | The communist regime executed 14 men from the area in revenge for the murder of Bardhok Biba[14] |
| 1951 executions | 26 February 1951 | Tirana | 22 | Socialist People's Republic of Albania executed intellectuals without trial[15] |
| April 2 massacre | 2 April 1991 | Shkodër | 4 | Killing of four Democratic Party protesters by shots fired from the Albanian Party of Labour (APL) headquarters during post-election demonstrations.[16] |
| Libofshë massacre | 29 April 1992 | Libofshë | 5 | Five members of the Pupa family were bludgeoned to death during a robbery. The brothers Ditbardh and Josif Çuko were executed for the massacre, with their hanged bodies being displayed in public.[17] |
Modern Period
| Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massacre of 28 February 1997 | 28 February 1997 | Vlorë | 9 | |
| Massacre of Levan | 28 March 1997 | Levan | 24 | Violent clash where 24 people we killed; 18 Albanians and 6 Roma. The clash took place between Gang of Pusi i Mezinit and the Roma residents of the village of Levan, in Fier. It was part of the 1997 Albanian civil unrest. |
| Massacre of Cërrik | 23 May 1997 | Cërrik, Elbasan | 6 | 22 wounded |
| Ura Vajgurore massacre | 17 June 1997 | Ura Vajgurore | 5 | Five people were killed and six wounded; all police officers. It was part of the Albanian civil unrest. |
| Durrës shootout | 7 August 2009 | Durrës | 5 | |
| 2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations | 21 January 2011 | Tirana | 4 | Republican Guard opens fire on protesters, killing three on the spot and wounding another who died a week later in a coma.[18] |
| Ujë i Ftohtë massacre | 28 July 2013 | Kalasë Beach, Ujë i Ftohtë, Vlora | 3 | Delin Hajdaraj executes three vacationers with automatic gunfire.[19][20][21] |
| Çoles massacre | 7 April 2015 | Çoles neighborhood, Vlorë | 3 | Three young men – Albi Limaj, Haki Rakipi and Ardi Velaj – were killed after a trivial fight in a casino.[22][23] |
| Lushnja massacre | 11 October 2017 | Lushnja | 2 | The armed attack resulted in the death of two people and injuries to two others.[24][25] |
| Resulaj shooting | 10 August 2018 | Resulaj, Selenicë, Vlorë County | 8 | Ritvan Zykaj shoots and kills 8 of his relatives using a Kalashnikov |
| Dan Hutra femicides | 1 March 2023 | Tirana surroundings | 3 | 41-year-old Dan Hutra killed three women and injured others in a series of attacks in the surroundings of Tirana.[26][27] |
| Shkoder massacre | 30 October 2024 | Dobraç, Shkodër | 4 | Four people killed by a criminal group[28][29] |
References
- ↑ Trix, Frances (2017). Urban Muslim Migrants in Istanbul: Identity and Trauma Among Balkan Immigrants. Bloomsbury. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-78453-609-1.
not including an estimated 100,000 dead in Albania
- ↑ United States Department of State (1943). Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 115. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ↑ "1915 | Mid'hat bey Frashëri: The Epirus Question - the Martyrdom of a People". www.albanianhistory.net.
- ↑ Destani, Bejtullah D. (2003). Ethnic Minorities in the Balkan States, 1860-1971: 1914-1923. Archive Editions. ISBN 978-1-84097-035-7. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ↑ Swire, Joseph (1937). King Zog's Albania. Liveright. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ↑ "Greek barbarities in Albania". Oculus News. 9 April 2016.
- ↑ Çemerica, Haxhi; Buzali, Ilir (1984). Riza Kodheli (in Albanian). Shtëpia Botuese "8 Nëntori". Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ↑ Tomori, Kosta Papa (2012). Barbaritë greke në Shqipëri: kujtime historike, 1913-1914 (in Albanian). Naimi. ISBN 978-9928-109-38-5. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ↑ "Greek barbarities in Albania". Oculus News. 9 April 2016.
- ↑ Elsie, Robert. "1914 Christo Dako: Terrible Greek Atrocities in the District of Kortcha". albanianhistory.net.
- ↑ Mayer, Herman Frank (2008). Blutiges Edelweiß: die 1. Gebirgs-Division im Zweiten Weltkrieg (in German). Links Christoph Verlag. pp. 159–167. ISBN 978-3-86153-447-1.
- ↑ "M*sakra me 84 të vrarë brenda pak orësh, çfarë ndodhi më 4 shkurt 1944 në Tiranë! Faktet e reja, u arrestuan 300 antifashistë – Panorama ONLINE – lajm i fundit, lajmet e fundit, lajme". Panorama (in Albanian). 5 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ↑ "10 tetor 1947, dita kur u vra opozitarizmi". kujto.al (in Albanian). 10 October 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ↑ "Basha remembers the Valmir Pass Massacre: 14 prominent sons of Mirdita were hanged and shot. This province was never defeated by communist barbarity". www.balkanweb.com (in Albanian). 17 August 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ↑ "Shqipëri: 26 shkurt 1951 regjimi komunist ekzekuton 22 intelektualë shqiptarë" (in Albanian). Radiovaticana.org. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Today marks 34 years since the April 2 massacre, Basha: Freedom gained through sacrifices". Gazeta Express. 2 April 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ "Dënimi i fundit me vdekje për masakrën e Libofshës/ Kush ishin dy vëllezërit që u varën në mes të Fierit! Ngjarja që tronditi Shqipërinë në vitin 1992". Gazeta Panorama (in Albanian). 19 November 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
- ↑ "Nga 21 Janar 2011 pasdite - deri më sot, të gjitha deklaratat publike të Sali Berishës për vrasjet e protestuesve - Gazeta Dita". gazetadita.al (in Albanian). 20 November 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
- ↑ "Massacre at the Vlore beach". Top Channel. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ↑ "VIDEO – Armored vehicles and heavy weapons, an operation like in action movies. How the perpetrator of the Vlora massacre was arrested". www.balkanweb.com. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ↑ "Bixhoz, playstation dhe drogë – Kush ishin të dënuarit në "qelitë e luksit"". www.lapsi.al (in Albanian). 2 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ↑ "U dënua për 'Masakrën e Çoles', si u arrestua 27-vjeçari i dënuar me 35 vite burg! Nga sherri banal, te seria e atentateve, çfarë ndodhi në Vlorë". Panorama (in Albanian). 8 July 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ↑ "The businessman who was executed in Selenica, his relative involved in the "Çola Massacre" is revealed!". pamfleti.net. 1 November 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ↑ "Artan Hoxha publikon në REPOLITIX videon ekskluzive të masakrës së Lushnjes". Shqiptarja.com (in Albanian). 19 September 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ↑ "Shënjestër ishte nipi i Aldo Bares, por i shpëtoi atentatit! Si ndodhi masakra e Lushnjës 6 vite më parë e kryer nga Laert Haxhiu dhe Orges Bilbili". Panorama (in Albanian). 23 May 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ↑ "The murder of 3 women, a protest in front of the Ministry of Justice: Valentine's flowers, March 8, are turning us into death flowers". voxnews. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
- ↑ "Sot tentoi të arratisej nga burgu! Kush është vrasësi serial Dan Hutra, autori i masakrës së trefishtë në Tiranë (Profil)". ditar.al (in Albanian). 4 January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
- ↑ "Massacre in Shkodra! The number of victims rises to 3, Arlind Bushati dies. He was in the car with Hamza Lici when they were shot with a Kalashnikov rifle". www.balkanweb.com. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ Dema, Sokol (20 November 2024). "Atentati me 4 të vrarë në Shkodër, arrestohen 4 policë! Nuk shoqëruan për identifikim personin e tretë në makinë, akuzohen për 'shpërdorim detyre' (EMRAT)". Shqiptarja.com (in Albanian). Retrieved 21 February 2026.