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 April 29, 1914 Hormovë 217 Albanian men and boys were massacred by the Greek army in 1914.[3][4][5][6]
Massacre at Panariti July 10, 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 July 9, 1943 Borovë 107 Nazi German forces killed civilians as a reprisal for a partisan attack[11]

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[12]
1951 executions February 26, 1951 Tirana 22 Socialist People's Republic of Albania executed intellectuals without trial[13]
Libofshë massacre June 1992 Libofshë 5 Brothers Ditbardh and Josef Cuko kill five members of the same family with metal bars during a robbery in the town of Libofshë. The brothers were executed for the massacre, with their hanged bodies being displayed in public.[14]

Modern Period

Name Date Location Deaths Notes
Massacre of 28 February 1997 February 28, 1997 Vlorë 9
Massacre of Levan March 28, 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 May 23, 1997 Cërrik, Elbasan 6 22 wounded
Ura Vajgurore massacre June 17, 1997 Ura Vajgurore 5 Five people were killed and six wounded; all police officers. It was part of the Albanian civil unrest.
Durrës shootout August 7, 2009 Durrës 5
2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations January 21, 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.[15]
Resulaj shooting August 10, 2018 Resulaj, Selenicë, Vlorë County 8 Ritvan Zykaj shoots and kills 8 of his relatives using a Kalashnikov
Dan Hutra femicides March 1, 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.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "1915 | Mid'hat bey Frashëri: The Epirus Question - the Martyrdom of a People". www.albanianhistory.net.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Swire, Joseph (1937). King Zog's Albania. Liveright. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Greek barbarities in Albania". Oculus News. 9 April 2016.
  7. ^ Çemerica, Haxhi; Buzali, Ilir (1984). Riza Kodheli (in Albanian). Shtëpia Botuese "8 Nëntori". Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Greek barbarities in Albania". Oculus News. 9 April 2016.
  10. ^ Elsie, Robert. "1914 Christo Dako: Terrible Greek Atrocities in the District of Kortcha". albanianhistory.net.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "10 tetor 1947, dita kur u vra opozitarizmi". kujto.al. October 10, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  13. ^ "Shqipëri: 26 shkurt 1951 regjimi komunist ekzekuton 22 intelektualë shqiptarë". Radiovaticana.org. Archived from the original on 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  14. ^ "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. 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "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.