Viti, Kosovo

Ancient times

In the Vërban archaeological site, the statue of Dea Dardanica was found.^[2] The sculpture is thought that represents an ancient deity of the Dardani, an Illyrian people, it is considered a masterpiece of the Dardanian art.

Ottoman period

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

Kosovo War and aftermath

During the Kosovo War 16 KLA soldiers, as well as 5 Serb soldiers and policemen were killed in Viti.^[3] The entire fighting happened in 1999 and in the southern part of the municipality, near the Karadak Mountains, in villages such as Lubishtë, Gjylekare, Mogillë, Smirë, Kabash and Dëbëlldeh.^[3]

During and after the Kosovo War 76 civilians were killed, 38 Albanians and 38 Serbs.^[3]

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, Viti 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.^[4] The Church of the Holy Mother of God, Podgorce was looted during the conflict.

During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the Orthodox cemetery in Viti and the village of Dobreš were hit by missiles.^[5]

In August 2003, explosive devices planted in Klokot destroyed five Serb houses, with several injuries, including two American KFOR soldiers.^[6]

Serbian Orthodox cemeteries have been destroyed in Viti, among other towns, and in 2004 during unrest, nuns of the Binča monastery were physically attacked, by ethnic Albanians.^[7]

Insurgency in the Preševo Valley

During the Insurgency in the Preševo Valley, the UÇPMB mostly recruited fighters from the Karadak region of Kosovo, specifically in the town of Vitia. In February 2001, many towns and villages in the region were covered with posters that instructed Albanians between the ages of 18 and 48 to join their fellow Albanians in the UÇPMB. These posters were supposedly issued by the previously disbanded KLA.^[8]

Insurgency in Macedonia

Amidst the Insurgency in Macedonia, approximately 300 NLA fighters from the Vitia municipality, mostly recruited in Dëbëlldeh and Mjakë, participated in several battles against Macedonian security forces in Tanuševci.^[9] The NLA also used Dëbëlldeh and Mjakë as strongholds, where they would store Arms.^[10][11]

Contemporary

The village of Kllokot, formerly part of the municipality of Viti, was established as a separate municipality on 8 January 2010. This change was implemented in accordance with the Ahtisaari Plan for the decentralization of Kosovo, which proposed the creation of a new municipality with a Serbian majority within the territory Viti municipality.

In 2013 in response to a KLA monument being removed by Serbian authorities in Preševo, a Kosovo Albanian crowd in Viti demolished a Yugoslav-era memorial for anti-fascist Partisans that were killed during the Second World War.^[12]

Ethnicity and language

The municipality is homogeneously Albanian where 99.3% of the population identifies as ethnic Albanian. The dialect of the Albanian language spoken by the inhabitants is Gheg.^[14]

Religion

In terms of religious affiliation, 95% of the population identified as Sunni Muslim. Roman Catholics constituted 3.6% of the population, while 0.4% identified as Orthodox Christian. An additional 0.4% reported adherence to other religions. A small proportion, 0.1%, declared no religious affiliation, and 0.5% refused to answer.