A father looking for his two missing sons during the Kosovo War, 1999

A father looking for his two missing sons during the Kosovo War, 1999

Mustafa Xaja, an Albanian man, holds up a picture that shows his two sons, who were lost during the war in Kosovo. All his family members were safe, including his two sons, and they all reunited after the war. The Kosovo conflict saw the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro, who controlled Kosovo before the war) and the Kosovo Albanian rebel group called the Kosovo Liberation Army. The KLP fought against the FRY as it sought to fight against the Serbian persecution of Kosovo Albanians. The war, which occurred between 1998 and 1999, came to an end when the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) intervened by using airstrikes, which resulted in the Yugoslav forces withdrawing from Kosovo. Both sides committed war crimes and terrible acts of violence. The conflict was heavily fuelled by ethnic tensions, identity and independence issues, making the war infamous for it's confusing and often misunderstood timeline. The war saw 13,500 people lose their lives and tore families apart forever. The pain in his eyes tells so much. Photographer: unknown Source: BBC