text:
Fiat S.p.A.

Fiat S.p.A., or Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), was an Italian holding company whose original and core activities were in the automotive industry, and that was succeeded by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA). The Fiat Group contained many brands such as Ferrari, Maserati, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, the Chrysler Group, and many more. On 29 January 2014, it was announced that Fiat S.p.A. (the former owner of Fiat Group) was to be merged into a new Netherlands-based holding company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA), taking place before the end of 2014. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles became the new owner of Fiat Group. On 1 August 2014, Fiat S.p.A. received necessary shareholder approval to proceed with the merger (which followed board approval). The merger became effective 12 October 2014.

Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors, including Giovanni Agnelli. During its more than century-long history, Fiat has also manufactured railway engines and carriages, military vehicles, farm tractors, and aircraft. In 2013, Fiat (together with Chrysler) was the second largest European automaker by volumes produced, and the seventh in the world ahead of Honda, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Suzuki, Renault, and Daimler AG.

Over the years, Fiat has acquired numerous other automakers: it acquired Lancia in 1968, became a shareholder of Ferrari in 1969, took control of Alfa Romeo from the Italian government in 1986, purchased Maserati in 1993, and became the full owner of Chrysler Group LLC in 2014. Fiat Group currently produces vehicles under twelve brands: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Ram Trucks, and SRT.

In 1970, Fiat employed more than 100,000 in Italy when its production reached the highest number, 1.4 million cars, in that country. As of 2002, Fiat built more than 1 million vehicles at six plants in Italy and the country accounted for more than a third of the company's revenue.

Fiat-brand cars are built in several locations around the world. Outside Italy, the largest country of production is Brazil, where the Fiat brand is the market leader. The group also has factories in Argentina, Poland and Mexico (where Fiat-brand vehicles are manufactured at plants owned and operated by Chrysler for export to the U.S., Brazil, Italy and other markets) and a long history of licensing manufacture of its products in other countries - in the 1960s, Fiat notably set up joint ventures in Eastern Europe with the best known being VAZ (Lada) in the former Soviet Union. It also has numerous alliances and joint ventures around the world, the main ones being located in Serbia, France, Turkey, India and China.

Gianni Agnelli, the grandson of founder Giovanni Agnelli, was Fiat's chairman from 1966 until 1996; he then served as honorary chairman from 1996 until his death on 24 January 2003, during which time Cesare Romiti served as chairman. He was succeeded briefly by Paolo Fresco, who served as chairman, and Paolo Cantarella, as CEO. Umberto Agnelli then took over as chairman from 2003 to 2004. After Umberto Agnelli's death on 28 May 2004, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was named chairman, with Agnelli heir John Elkann becoming vice chairman (at the age of 28), and other family members also serving on the board. On 1 June 2004, Giuseppe Morchio was replaced by Sergio Marchionne as CEO.

History

Giovanni Agnelli, with several investors, founded the Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (F.I.A.T.) società per azioni (S.p.a.), Italian Automobile Factory of Turin, in 1899. Its acronymous name was changed to upper- and lower-case Fiat in 1906. Agnelli led the company until his death in 1945, while Vittorio Valletta administered the firm's daily activities. Its first car, the 3 ½ CV, of which only 24 copies were built, all bodied by Alessio of Turin, strongly resembled contemporary Benz, and had a 697 cc boxer twin engine. In 1903, Fiat produced its first truck. In 1908, the first Fiat was exported to the US. That same year, the first Fiat aircraft engine was produced. Also around the same time, Fiat taxis became popular in Europe.

By 1910, Fiat was the largest automotive company in Italy — a position it has retained since. That same year, a new plant was built in Poughkeepsie, NY, by the newly founded American F.I.A.T. Automobile Company. Owning a Fiat at that time was a sign of distinction. The cost of a Fiat in the US was initially $4,000 and rose up to $6,400 in 1918, compared to $825 for a Ford Model T in 1908, and $525 in 1918, respectively. During World War I, Fiat had to devote all of its factories to supplying the Allies with aircraft, engines, machine guns, trucks, and ambulances. Upon the entry of the US into the war in 1917, the factory was shut down as US regulations became too burdensome. After the war, Fiat introduced its first tractor, the 702. By the early 1920s, Fiat had a market share in Italy of 80%.

In 1921, workers seized Fiat's plants and hoisted the red flag of communism over them, to which Agnelli responded by quitting the company. However, the Italian Socialist Party and its ally organization, the Italian General Confederation of Labour, in an effort to effect a compromise with the centrist parties ordered the occupation to end. In 1922, Fiat began to build the famous Lingotto car factory—then the largest in Europe—which opened in 1923. It was the first Fiat factory to use assembly lines; by 1925, Fiat controlled 87% of the Italian car market. In 1928, with the 509, Fiat included insurance in the purchase price.

Fiat made military machinery and vehicles during World War II for the Italian army and Regia Aeronautica, and later for the Germans. Fiat made fighter aircraft like the biplane CR.42 Falco, which was one of the most common Italian aircraft, along with Savoia-Marchettis, as well as light tanks, obsolete compared to their German and Soviet counterparts, and armoured vehicles. The best Fiat aircraft was the G.55 fighter, which arrived too late and in too limited numbers to impact the outcome of the war.

In 1945, the National Liberation Committee removed the Agnelli family from leadership roles in Fiat because of its ties to Mussolini's government. These were not returned until 1963, when Giovanni's grandson, Gianni, took over as general manager until 1966 and as chairman until 1996.

Fiat launched a nuclear research program in the 1950s. It was the first private company in Europe to host its own nuclear reactor.

Gianni Agnelli

Among the younger Agnelli's first steps after gaining control of Fiat was a massive reorganization of the company management, which had previously been highly centralized, with little provision for the delegation of authority and decision-making. Such a system was effective in the past, but lacked the responsiveness and flexibility needed by Fiat's steady expansion, and the growth of its international operations in the 1960s. The company was reorganized on a product-line basis, with two main product groups—one for passenger cars, the other for trucks and tractors—and a number of semi-independent division and subsidiaries. Top management, freed from responsibility for day-by-day operations of the company, was able to devote its efforts to more far-reaching goals. In 1967, Fiat made its first acquisition when it purchased Autobianchi; with sales amounting to $1.7 billion, it outstripped Volkswagen, its main European competitor, and in 1968 produced some 1,750,000 vehicles while its sales volume climbed to $2.1 billion. According to Newsweek in 1968, Fiat was "the most dynamic automaker in Europe...[and] may come closest to challenging the worldwide supremacy of Detroit." Then, in 1969, it purchased controlling interests in Ferrari and Lancia. At the time, Fiat was a conglomerate, owning Alitalia, toll highways, a typewriter and office machine manufacturer, electronics and electrical equipment firms, a paint company, a civil engineering firm, and an international construction company. Following up on an agreement Valletta had made with Soviet officials in 1966, Agnelli constructed the AvtoVAZ plant in the new city of Togliattigrad on the Volga. This began operation in 1970, producing a local version of the Fiat 124 as the Lada. On his initiative, Fiat automobile and truck plants were also constructed in industrial centers of Yugoslavia, Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania. In 1973, Fiat established Comau, an industrial automation company out of the various suppliers which had equipped the AvtoVAZ plant in Russia. Comau became an industry pioneer in the use of Robotics for vehicle assembly – a technology with which Fiat would become synonymous for in the 1970s, with its "Robogate" system for bodyshell manufacture, and the later FIRE family of robot-assembled engines in the 1980s.

Despite offering a relatively competitive range of cars, Fiat was not immune from the financial pressures that the auto industry confronted following the 1973 oil price shock. Towards the end of 1976 it was announced that the Libyan government was to take a 9.6% shareholding in the company in return for a capital injection worth an equivalent of £250 million. The size of the Libyan investment is apparent when it is compared to the £310 million IMF loan that the Italian government was trying to negotiate at the time. Other aspects of the Libyan agreement included the construction of a truck and bus plant at Tripoli. Chairman Agnelli candidly described the deal as "a classic petro-money recycling operation which will strengthen the Italian reserves, provide Fiat with fresh capital and give the group greater tranquility in which to carry out its investment programmes". Equally noteworthy was the fact that despite the dilutive effect of the Libyan investment on existing shareholders, the company's largest shareholder, the Agnelli family, retained a 30% stake in the recapitalised business.

In 1979, the company became a holding company when it spun off its various businesses into autonomous companies, one of them being Fiat Auto. That same year, sales reached an all-time high in the US, corresponding to the Iranian Oil Crisis. However, when gas prices fell again after 1981, Americans began purchasing sport utility vehicles, minivans, and pickup trucks in larger numbers (marking a departure from their past preference for large cars). Also, Japanese automakers had been taking an ever-larger share of the car market, increasing at more than half a percent a year. Consequently, in 1984, Fiat and Lancia withdrew from the United States market. In 1989, it did the same in the Australian market, although it remained in New Zealand.

In 1986, Fiat acquired Alfa Romeo from the Italian government. Also, in 1986 15% of Fiat company stock was still owned by Libya, an investment dating back to the mid-seventies. US foreign policy under President Reagan's administration canceled a Pentagon contract to produce earth movers with Fiat and pressured the company into brokering a buyout of the Libyan investment. In 1992, two top corporate officials in the Fiat Group were arrested for political corruption. A year later, Fiat acquired Maserati. In 1995 Alfa Romeo exited the US market. Maserati re-entered the US market under Fiat in 2002. Since then, Maserati sales there have been increasing briskly.

Paolo Fresco
Paolo Fresco became chairman of Fiat in 1998 with the hope that the veteran of General Electric would bring more emphasis on shareholder value to Fiat. By the time he took power, Fiat's market share in Italy had fallen to 41% from around 62% in 1984. However, a Jack Welch-like management style would be much harsher than that used by the Italians (e.g., precarious versus lifetime employment). Instead, Fresco focused on offering more incentives for good performance, including compensation using stock options for top and middle management.

However, his efforts were frustrated by union objections. Unions insisted that pay raises be set by length of tenure, rather than performance. Another conflict was over his preference for informality (the founder, Giovanni Agnelli, used to be a cavalry officer). He often referred to other managers by their first name, although company tradition obliged one to refer to others using their titles (e.g., "Chairman Fresco"). The CEO of the company, Paolo Cantarella, ran the day-to-day affairs of the company, while Fresco determined company strategy and especially acted as a negotiator for the company. In 1999, Fiat formed CNH Global by merging New Holland NV and Case Corporation.

In 2003, Fiat shed its insurance sector, which it was operating through Toro Assicurazioni to the DeAgostini Group. In the same year, Fiat sold its aviation business, FiatAvio to Avio Holding. In February 2004, the company sold its interest in Fiat Engineering, as well as its stake in Edison.

Sergio Marchionne

Sergio Marchionne was appointed CEO of Fiat in 2004 and initially he impressed investors. At the end of the 2005 financial year, the company saw its first profit in 17 quarters of €196M for the first 9 months of FY2006.

Marchionne reduced Fiat's managerial bureaucracy refocused the business on markets and profit. While chairman, Luca di Montezemolo, dealt with politicians and unions, Marchionne rebuilt the car business. The success of the Grande Punto model was in large part responsible for the turnaround in Fiat's fortunes, but the award-winning 500 cemented it. Fiat formed a joint venture with India's TATA Motors, which has subsequently ended, and with China's Chery Motors which didn't conclude. In 2005 Fiat courted Ford, and returned to China with a joint venture GAC Fiat created in 2010. Under Marchionne Fiat also re-entered several large markets that it had exited years before, such as Mexico and Australia.

In December 2008, Marchionne announced Fiat had to become one of the top five automakers to survive in the long run. Under Marchionne's leadership, Fiat returned to Canadian and American markets with the new 500. However, since 2009, Marchionne has presided over a business that has experienced a loss in European market share from 9.3 to 6.2 percent. In December 2013, Marchionne announced that he intended to discontinue the Grande Punto so that the company could focus on "cool, high margin" Fiat 500 (2007) variants and the Fiat Panda.

In 2010, John Elkann became the Chairman of Fiat SpA and shareholders approved a plan to demerger Fiat's capital goods businesses. Agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer CNH Global NV, truck maker Iveco, and the industrial and marine division of Fiat Powertrain Technologies were spun off into a new group on 1 January 2011. The parent company, Fiat Industrial S.p.A., was listed on the Milan stock exchange on 3 January 2011.

In 2010, credit rating agency Fitch cut Fiat's debt rating to BB− after it had accumulated a debt of around 9.3 billion EUR. In 2013, Fiats debt rating was cut again, this time by Moody's, to Ba3 over concerns European demand was lower and debt was falling slower than expected. The Financial Times estimate of Fiat's debt at the time was almost 28 billion EUR.

Acquisition of Chrysler
On 20 January 2009, Fiat S.p.A. and Chrysler LLC announced their intention to form a global alliance. Under the terms of the agreement, Fiat would take a 20% stake in Chrysler and gain access to its North American distribution network in exchange for providing Chrysler with technology and platforms to build smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles in the US and providing reciprocal access to Fiat's global distribution network. Agreements were signed on 30 April 2009, with Fiat's future shareholding capped at 49% until all government loans had been repaid.

In addition, the proposed agreement would entitle Fiat to receive a further 15% (without cash consideration) through the achievement of specific product and commercial objectives. No cash or financial support was required from Fiat under the agreement. Instead it would obtain its stake mainly in exchange for covering the cost of retooling a Chrysler plant to produce one or more Fiat models for in the US. Fiat would also provide engine and transmission technology to enable Chrysler to introduce smaller, fuel-efficient models in the NAFTA market. The deal was engineered by Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne. The principal objective of the partnership was to provide both groups with significantly enhanced economies of scale and geographical reach at a time when they were struggling to compete with larger and more global rivals such as Toyota, Volkswagen and alliance partners Renault S.A. and Nissan.

Fiat would not have to pay any money for its 20% of Chrysler. On 7 June 2009, the Indiana State Police Pension Fund, the Indiana Teacher's Retirement Fund, and the state's Major Moves Construction Fund asked the US Supreme Court to delay the sale of Chrysler to Fiat while they challenge the deal. The funds argued that the sale went against US bankruptcy law because it unlawfully rewarded unsecured creditors ahead of secured creditors. On 9 June 2009, the Supreme Court lifted the temporary hold, clearing the way for Fiat to acquire Chrysler. See Indiana State Police Pension Trust v. Chrysler for more information. On 10 June, the Supreme Court announced that Fiat was now an owner of the new Chrysler a.k.a. Chrysler Group LLC.

Marchionne was appointed CEO of Chrysler following its emergence from bankruptcy proceedings. Under his leadership, Chrysler has taken on a structure similar to that of Fiat and has released, in quick succession, a large number of completely redesigned or refreshed vehicles. Fiat launched its 500, which had been available in Europe since 2007, in the United States and Canada in 2011, marking the company's return to the American auto market, which it had been absent from since 1984. Prior to this, Fiat's main presence on the continent was Mexico, where it offers a greater variety of products than in the United States and Canada.

On 10 January 2011, Fiat announced that it had increased its share in Chrysler from 20% to 25% following the achievement of the first of three performance objectives. On 11 April 2011, it announced achievement of the second performance objective, increasing its stake a further 5% to 30%. On 24 May 2011, Fiat announced that it had paid Chrysler US$1,268 million for a further 16% interest, increasing its stake total stake to 46% (fully diluted). The transaction coincided with Chrysler refinancing its debt to the U.S. and Canadian governments. On 25 May autonews.com reported that Fiat could buy government stakes in Chrysler as soon as the end of July 2011, increasing its total stake to 54%.

In May 2011, it emerged that Fiat could actually increase its stake in Chrysler Group to more than 70 percent through the exercise of further options.

In a regulatory filing dated 22 July 2011, the Michigan-based automaker reported that Fiat held a 53.5% interest (fully diluted). Fiat and Chrysler have both stated that they expect that interest to reach 58.5% by the end of 2011 as result of achievement of the third of the three performance objectives. On 5 January 2012 Fiat released press info that the ownership has increased to 58.5%. The stake was further increased to 68.49% in July 2013. On 1 January 2014, Fiat announced it would be acquiring the remaining shares of Chrysler owned by the VEBA worth $3.65 billion. The deal was completed by 21 January.

On 29 January 2014, it was announced that Fiat S.p.A. would be merged into a new company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, incorporated in the Netherlands with tax domicile in the UK. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will become the owner of Fiat Group. On 1 August 2014, Fiat S.p.A. received necessary shareholder approval to proceed with the merger (which followed board approval). FCA will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange with an additional listing on the Mercato Telematico Azionario in Milan to follow.

Activities
The group's activities were initially focused on the industrial production of cars, industrial and agricultural vehicles. Over time it has diversified into many other fields, and the group now has activities in a wide range of sectors in industry and financial services. It is Italy's largest industrial concern. It also has significant worldwide operations, operating in 61 countries with 1,063 companies that employ over 223,000 people, 111,000 of whom are outside Italy.

Fiat's main shareholders include 30.1% by Exor S.p.A. (controlled by the Agnelli family), 24.9% by EU institutional investors, 11.2% by outside EU institutional investors and 2.6% by Baillie Gifford & Co., a Scottish investment management company.

Principal subsidiaries
Fiat's principal operating subsidiaries (direct and indirect) include: Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. (FGA), Chrysler Group LLC, Fiat Automoveis, S.A. (subsidiary of FGA); FGA Capital S.p.A. (a JV held 50% by FGA and 50% by Crédit Agricole CF), Ferrari S.p.A., Maserati S.p.A., Magneti Marelli S.p.A., Teksid S.p.A., Comau S.p.A., Itedi-Italiana Edizioni S.p.A. (see 2010 Annual Report )

Alliances and joint ventures
Fiat has undertaken numerous joint ventures and alliances. Commencing in 1978, the Type Four platform was an alliance between Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia and Saab and resulting in a range of cars on sale in the mid-1980s.

In 2000 a number of joint ventures were established with General Motors following GM buying 20% of Fiat while Fiat bought 6% of GM. Complications with the relationship saw these JVs being wound back by 2005. Resulting projects included the GM Fiat Small platform and Fiat-GM Powertrain.

In 2005, Fiat formed an alliance with Ford to create a new small car, resulting in the Fiat 500 and Ford Ka.

In 2012, Fiat formed an alliance with Mazda to develop and build a new rear wheel drive roadster for the Alfa Romeo and Mazda brands.

Automotive

Fiat is the largest vehicle manufacturer in Italy, with cars ranging from small Fiat city cars to sports cars made by Ferrari, and vans and trucks such as the Ducato. Besides Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., Fiat Group automotive companies include Chrysler Group LLC and Maserati S.p.A. The Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. companies include: Abarth & C. S.p.A., Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A., Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., Fiat Professional and Lancia Automobiles S.p.A.

Ferrari S.p.A. is 90% owned by the Fiat Group. The company also owns Autobianchi but the marque has been dormant since 1995, and Innocenti, which ceased production in 1996.

The European Car of the Year award, Europe's premier automotive trophy for the past 50 years, has been awarded twelve times to the Fiat Group, more than any other manufacturer, most recently with the Fiat 500 in 2008.

Previous Fiat Group models which have won European Car of the Year: Fiat 124 (1967), Fiat 128 (1970), Fiat 127 (1972), Lancia Delta (1980), Fiat Uno (1984), Fiat Tipo (1989), Fiat Punto (1995), Fiat Bravo/Brava (1996), Alfa Romeo 156 (1998), Alfa Romeo 147 (2001) and the Fiat Panda (2004).

Trucks and buses
Fiat Industrial Vehicles (Fiat Veicoli Industriali) was Fiat's truck and bus division. It was created in 1903 with the launch of the 24HP model. By 1908 the company produced around 120 trucks, and by the end of 1918 production had grown to 17,000.

The operation closed in 1974 when Fiat created IVECO with OM, Lancia, Magirus and Unic.

Iveco was demerged into Fiat Industrial at the beginning of 2011.

Commercial vehicles
On 17 April 2007, Fiat Automobiles' light commercial vehicle unit Fiat Veicoli Commerciali was rebranded as Fiat Professional. Some of Fiat's light commercial vehicle products include the Fiat Ducato, Fiat Scudo and Fiat Doblò Cargo.

Agricultural and construction equipment
For Fiat branded Agricultural & Construction equipments from 1917 to 1991, see Fiat Trattori and from 1992 to 2014, see CNH Global.

Components
The major Italian component maker Magneti Marelli is owned by Fiat, and it in turn owns other brands such as AL-Automotive Lighting, Carello, Cromodora, Cofap, Ergom Automotive, Jaeger, Mako Elektrik, Paraflu, Seima, Siem SpA, Solex, Veglia Borletti, Vitaloni and Weber.

Metallurgical products
Fiat owns Teksid S.p.A., the largest iron foundry group in the world with a production capacity of approximately 600,000 tons annually. The company was established in December 1978, and designs and produces cylinder blocks, cylinder heads, exhaust manifolds, drive shafts, camshafts and other components for automobiles and commercial vehicles. Teksid, which is specialized in casting and processing iron, has plants in France, Portugal, Poland, Brazil, Mexico and China. Since 2007, Teksid S.p.A. runs also Teksid Aluminum S.r.l. a company specialized in casting and producing auto components from aluminum alloys.

Production systems
Production systems are made mainly through Comau S.p.A. (now Comau Systems), which bought the American Pico, Renault Automation and Sciaky and produces industrial automation systems. In the 1970s and 1980s, the company became a pioneer in the use of industrial robotics for the assembly of motor vehicles. Fiat assembly plants are among the best automated and advanced in the world.

Services
An insurance company, Toro Assicurazioni, allowed Fiat to control a relevant part of this market (also with minor companies like Lloyd Italico) and to interact with some associated banks. Toro Assicurazioni was acquired by the giant insurance company Assicurazioni Generali and is no longer part of the Fiat Group.

Construction
Ingest Facility and Fiat Engineering work in various fields of construction, while IPI is a mediation company that also deals with the management of real estate properties.

Information technology
Fiat Group is present in IT fields and in communications with ICT—Information & Communication Technology, Global Value, TeleClient, London and Atlanet.

Publishing and communication
Fiat Group also has interests in several major publishing houses and national and local newspapers, such as La Stampa (created in 1926), Itedi, and Italiana Edizioni. A specialised advertising space reseller is Publikompass, supported by the Consorzio Fiat Media Center. Fiat is also has one of the largest shareholdings in RCS MediaGroup.

Other activities
Fiat Gesco, KeyG Consulting, Sadi Customs Services, Easy Drive, RM Risk Management and Servizio Titoli are minor companies that work for public services, delivering services in economics and financial fields. Other activities include industrial securitisation (Consorzio Sirio), treasury (Fiat Geva), Fiat Information & Communication Services.

Fiat supports the Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli, an important foundation for social and economic research. Palazzo Grassi, a well-known historic building in Venice, now a museum and formerly supported by Fiat, was eventually sold to the French businessman François Pinault in January 2005.

Aviation and motorcycles

Fiat, as Fiat Aviazione, was an important aircraft manufacturer, focused mainly on military aviation. After World War I, Fiat consolidated several Italian small aircraft manufacturers, like Pomilio and Ansaldo. Most famous were Fiat biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s, Fiat CR.32 and Fiat CR.42. Other notable designs were fighters CR.20, G.50, G.55 and a bomber, the Fiat BR.20. In the 1950s, the company designed the G.91 light ground attack plane. In 1969, Fiat Aviazione merged with Aerfer to create Aeritalia.

In 1959, Piaggio came under the control of the Agnelli family. In 1964, the aeronautical and motorcycle divisions split to become independent companies. The aeronautical division was named IAM Rinaldo Piaggio. Today the aeronautical company Piaggio Aero is controlled by the family of Piero Ferrari, which also holds 10% of the carmaker Ferrari.

The motorcycle division, Vespa, thrived until 1992, when Giovanni Alberto Agnelli became CEO—but Agnelli was already suffering from cancer, and died in 1997. In 1999, Morgan Grenfell Private Equity acquired Piaggio.

Weapons
Fiat built artillery tractors for the French and Italian armies in World War I.

Società Anonima Fabbrica Armi Torino (SAFAT) was a wholly owned subsidiary of FIAT in the 1930s, designing and manufacturing weapons for the Italian armed forces. After losing a competition to produce a series of new machine-guns for the Regia Aeronautica, SAFAT was sold to the winning competitor – Società Italiana Ernesto Breda, forming Breda-SAFAT.

Rail transport
Fiat Ferroviaria's history goes back to before World War II, when Fiat provided motive power used for both Diesel and electric locomotives and railcars (littorine) not only in Italy, but other parts of Europe, and in South America. Fiat produced, among the rest, the successful Pendolino tilting trains, the first working prototype four-car set being run in the mid-1970s.

Fiat Ferroviaria was later sold to Alstom in 2000.

Recreation
The Fiat Group owned the Sestriere skiing facilities; the village in the Alps is a creation of the Agnelli family. The Sestriere skiing facilities were sold by the group in 2006.

Enterprises outside Italy
See list of Fiat Group assembly sites

Fiat was a key player in developing motor industries for a number of countries from the 1950s, particularly in Eastern Europe, Spain, Egypt, Ethiopia and Turkey. The AutoVAZ state works Lada products in Tolyatti (Togliatti), Russia, were Fiat based, as were SEAT products of Spain. Lada is now controlled by Renault, and SEAT by Volkswagen. A small number of Fiats were built in Bulgaria. Among Fiat's earliest foreign assembly plants was one in Poughkeepsie, New York, between 1910 and 1917.

United States
The American F.I.A.T. Automobile Company was founded by American licensees in 1909 as a response to 45 percent tariffs on imported automobiles. The plant was finished in the spring of 1910 and the first car rolled off the production line in September 1910; all Poughkeepsie Fiats were built with parts shipped from Italy although they usually received locally made bodywork by companies like Holbrook, Quinby, or Fleetwood. American F.I.A.T. focused on the larger and more luxurious end of the range, with the smaller Types 51 and 52 (Tipo 1 and 2) only available to order as fully built-up imports.

The first model offered was the Type 54, corresponding to the European Tipo 4. This has a 5699 cc four-cylinder engine (itself called "Tipo 54A" ) and rode on a 124 in wheelbase; it was manufactured until 1914 or 1915. This was joined by the large and expensive Type 56 in 1912, a seven-passenger touring car reserved for the American market. This model has a six-cylinder version of the Type 54 engine, displacing 8549 cc and mounted in a chassis with a 135 in wheelbase. In 1913 the Type 55 arrived (although some Type 55s appear to have been sold in 1912), slightly shorter than the Type 56 with a 128 in wheelbase but with a massive 9017 cc four-cylinder engine. This car was largely identical to the European Tipo 5 and was also manufactured for export. In 1914 the fourth and final American Fiat was introduced, the smaller Type 53 - the equivalent of the Italian Tipo 3 Ter. This has a 4396 cc four-cylinder engine and a 116 in wheelbase. The Tipo 53 was built until 1916, while the 55 and 56 were manufactured until 1917, although late 55s seem to have been sold as "1918s" and they did appear in new-car catalogues that year. Fiat Italy took over the American operation in 1917 and reduced the lineup to the Type 55, now sitting on a 140 in wheelbase. NACC tax horsepower figures were 30 hp for the Type 54, 45 for the Type 56, 42 for the Type 55, and 25 hp for the Type 53. Actual outputs were higher, ranging from 40 hp for the Type 53 to 75 hp for the big Types 55 and 56.

Output was never very large, Fiats being very expensive cars at the time, with annual production averaging around 350 cars. Once the United States entered the war, no more car parts were arriving from Italy and production was halted. There were plans for restarting production after the war but they came to naught and the plant was sold to Duesenberg in February 1918. Duesenberg proceeded to transfer the machinery to their plant in Elizabeth, NJ, to build aircraft engines. At the beginning of 1928 the facilities changed hands again, now belonging to truck manufacturers Larrabee Motor Truck Co. who transferred their activities there from Binghamton. The building went on to serve various functions, being part of the Marist College campus for a while, and was torn down in 1997.

Fiat Automóveis (Brazil)

Fiat Automóveis S.A., a subsidiary of Fiat S.p.A., began making automobiles in Brazil in 1976 beginning with the production of the Fiat 147, the Brazilian version of the Italian Fiat 127, produced until 1986. More than 10,000,000 units have been produced in Fiat Automóveis factory in Betim since 1976, plus 232,807 units in the Fiat Argentina plant of Córdoba. The original factory, located in the city of Belo Horizonte, cost $250 million to build. The state of Minas Gerais had a 10–20% stake in the company and also provided special economic benefits to Fiat.

Launched in July 1979, the 147 was the first mass-produced car that ran on ethanol as fuel instead of petrol. The performance slightly increased and fuel consumption was 30% higher but the cost of the alcohol was a quarter of the gasoline because, at that time, petrol had become expensive as a consequence of the 1979 oil crisis. This version was nicknamed cachacinha (little cachaça) because it had the scent of that Brazilian drink.

In October 1984 Fiat Automóveis introduced the Fiat Uno, which continued on sale until the end of 2013 as the renamed Fiat Mille, resulting in total production of 3.6 million vehicles. Production of the Fiat Palio world car began in 1996.

After the successful 2003 introduction of flexible-fuel vehicles in the Brazilian market, Fiat Automóveis launched its first flex model in March 2004, the Fiat Palio, followed by the Siena and Palio Weekend. Fiat sold 665,514 vehicles in Brazil in 2008, allowing the carmaker to continue as the market leader for seven years in a row. Flex fuel automobiles represented almost 100 percent of the car sales in 2008, and 92 percent of all light-duty trucks sold.

In 2006 Fiat introduced the Fiat Siena Tetra fuel, a four-fuel car developed under Magneti Marelli of Fiat Brazil. This automobile can run as a flex-fuel on 100% ethanol (E100); or on E20-E25 blend, Brazil's normal ethanol gasoline blend; on pure gasoline (though no longer available in Brazil since 1993, it is still used in neighboring countries); or just on natural gas (CNG). The Siena Tetrafuel was engineered to switch from any gasoline-ethanol blend to CNG automatically, depending on the power required by road conditions.

Fiat Argentina
Fiat has been present in Argentina since the beginning of the 20th century. There was a Fiat manufacturing plant in Córdoba at least as far back as 1954 when Fiat entered into a joint venture with two local companies to manufacture tractors. The company was known as Fiat-Concord until 1980. In 1959 the construction of a car plant in Caseros was approved, and 1960 saw the production there of the first Argentinian produced Fiat passenger car, a Fiat 600, after the Fiat 1100 Export and after in 1963 the Fiat 1500. In 1977 appears the Fiat 133, just a rebadged Seat 133 but made in Argentina. By 1978 a car manufacturing facility was well established in Córdoba, producing Fiat 128s as well as two models which from the Italian perspective belonged in earlier decades, the 125 (with some derivates) and the 600R.

In 1980 a joint venture with PSA called Sevel Argentina was begun, which lasted until 1995. The current day automobile manufacturing started with a new factory opened in Córdoba on 20 December 1996. From April 1997 the Siena and Palio models production started.

Production was suspended in the early 2000s as the Argentinean economy went downhill. In 2008 Fiat invested new money and the production of Fiat Siena saloon and the Fiat Palio was started. In October 2009, a Fiat Siena HLX becomes the 2 million unit produced by Fiat in Argentina. The Fiat Auto Argentina S.A. is Fiat S.p.A. owned company.

Fiat Automobili Srbija
Its first enterprise came in 1955, when it agreed to a deal with Yugoslav carmaker Zastava to assemble Fiats for Eastern Europe. The first cars produced by Zastava were its versions of the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1400. By 1970, Zastava was producing parts for the newer Fiat 124 and Fiat 125 models, which were assembled in Poland. The Zastava 750, launched in 1962, was Zastava's version of the iconic Fiat 600 minicar. It outlived the car on which it was based, with production lasting until 1981. Zastavas were not popular outside of Eastern Europe before the 1980s, although they were exported to the US and several European countries under the Yugo brand during the 1980s.

The most famous product launched by Zastava is the Zastava 101, a front-wheel drive car based on the Fiat 128, also available as a hatchback version never sold in Italy. With the demise of the Zastava 750 in 1981, the minicar gap in the Zastava range was filled by the Zastava Koral, which was best known in Britain and America as the Yugo Tempo or Yugo 45/55. It was based on the 1971 Fiat 127, which was due to be replaced by the Fiat Uno in 1983. Hostility towards Yugoslavia in the wake of the 1992 civil unrest saw a swift ending of imports to both Britain and America. The Zastava factory in Kragujevac was later bombed, but was rebuilt after the war ended, and production continued at another factory in Kragujevac.

In 1987, Zastava came up with a new car design. The Zastava Florida — also known as a Yugo, and in other markets as the Yugo Sana — was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro at the ItalDesign studio, later featured a range of more modern Peugeot engines. Sales continued in its homeland, with an update at the end of the 1990s. Zastava did not launch another new car for another 16 years. The 2003 Zastava 10 model was another Fiat design—this time the second generation Punto, and in 2009 was renamed Fiat Punto Classic

A new memorandum of understanding between Fiat and the Serb ministry of economic and regional development about the acquisition of Zastava's Kragujevac plant in 2008 led to a new company being set up in which the Italians would have a 70 percent stake and the Serb government 30 percent. The factory was renamed from "Zastava Automobili Srbija" to "Fiat Automobili Srbija". In 2010 and 2011, FAS (Fiat Automobili Srbija) underwent large-scale reconstruction for production of the Fiat 500L in 2012.

Polski Fiat/FSO (Poland)
Fiat automobiles have been made in Poland since 1920. In 1932, the Polskie Zakłady Inżynieryjne (Polish Engineering Works, PZInż) started the production of Fiat 508, produced until 1939 also as a military vehicle. In 1936 the licence was extended to include the Fiat 518 model. In 1965, the Polish communist government signed a deal with Fiat to produce selected Fiat models in Poland at the FSO factory in Warsaw that had been built in 1951. Production of the new car—the Polski Fiat 125p—began in 1967. It was visually identical to the Fiat 125, but it made use of older Fiat mechanicals which dated back to 1960. The car sold well in its homeland and was soon exported to Western Europe. 1978 saw the appearance of a new five-door hatchback, the FSO Polonez, that made use of Fiat 125p running gear. After 1982, Fiat withdrew its licence; since then FSO badge was reinstated with the Polski Fiat 125p surviving until 1991, and the Polonez production ending in 2002. FSO was taken over by Daewoo of South Korea in 1995, and become independent again in late 2000, after Daewoo went bankrupt and was taken over by General Motors.

Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych (FSM) in Bielsko-Biała and Tychy was a joint venture between FSO and Fiat, and manufactured the Fiat 126(p) in 1973 and the Cinquecento in 1991. In 1992 Fiat owned 90% of FSM (called Fiat Auto Poland, since 1993) and since then it produced Cinquecento, Uno, Seicento, Siena and Palio Weekend models with the capacity up to 200.000 cars a year. In 2003, FSM become the sole producer of Fiat Panda, and in 2007, the Fiat 500 and the related Ford Ka. Capacity was increased with production reaching over 600,000 in 2009, but dropped below 300,000 in 2013, resulting in the workforce being cut by a third.

AutoVAZ Lada (Russia)
In 1966, Fiat helped USSR state industries build a new car factory (AvtoVAZ) on the Volga river. A planned city called Tolyatti (named after Palmiro Togliatti, former Italian Communist Party Secretary) was developed around the factory, which started producing a "people's car" similar to the Volkswagen Beetle and Citroën 2CV of Germany and France. The new Soviet car, called the Lada, was a more spacious offering, in four-door saloon and five-door estate variants. Fiat installed British machine tools supplied by Herbert-BSA of Birmingham for the manufacture of many Lada parts. The 124's design was mechanically upgraded to survive treacherous Russian driving conditions and extremely cold winters. Imports to Western Europe, Canada, and some third world countries sold well owing to their low price. This car was upgraded to become the Lada Riva (marketing name in some markets) in 1980. Lada has gone on to develop some of its own models. The four-wheel drive Lada Niva uses some Fiat based components, e.g. engine and gearbox, but the body and four-wheel drive system are VAZ designs.

Bulgaria
1967–1971 produced Pirin-Fiat in Lovech, Bulgaria.

Tofaş (Turkey)
Tofaş is joint venture owned by Fiat SpA and Koç Holding (37.8% Fiat Group Automobiles, 37.8% Koc and 24.3% others). The Fiat 124 was produced under licence by Tofaş as the Tofaş Murat. This was replaced by a version of the Fiat 131, known as the Tofaş Şahin. Today the Fiat Linea car is amongst those manufactured by the Fiat-Tofas joint venture in Turkey, and the company has 12.1% of the Turkish car market as of 2007.

SEAT (Spain)
In Spain, SEAT—Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo (Spanish Touring Car Company)—was established with Fiat assistance in 1950, producing Fiat models under its own brand name until 1981, when Fiat withdrew its support. In 1982 SEAT signed a cooperation agreement with the German manufacturer Volkswagen and by the end of 1986 after a purchase of a majority stake SEAT had become part of the Volkswagen Group. However, production of some Fiat-based models continued, ending with the Fiat-based Marbella in 1998.

Ethiopia
The Fiat 131, known as the Holland Car DOCC.

Egypt
Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, President Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered the EGID (General Intelligence Agent) to establish a state owned automobile company. Nasr was founded in 1960 in Helwan, Egypt. It began producing some Fiat based models, but later produced the Tofaş Şahin under license by Tofaş. The last Fiat 128 model was built in 2008, while the Şahin is still in production in Egypt.

Currently the El-Mashreq Company, a part of the Seoudi Group is the main manufacturer of Alfa Romeo and Fiat vehicles for the Egyptian market. Arab American Vehicles (AAV) also manufactured Fiats in Egypt. They assembled the Fiat Ritmo at the behest of Nasr.

India
Fiat India Automobiles Private Limited (FIAPL) is a joint venture between Fiat and Mumbai based Tata Motors, founded in 1997. Fiat builds the Palio Stile, Linea and Punto. The Fiat plant is situated in Ranjangaon near Pune in Maharashtra and also manufactures the Tata Indica.

Although not a subsidiary of Fiat, Premier Automobiles of Mumbai was licensed to manufacture versions of the Fiat 500 for the Indian market. This was followed by the Fiat 1100 in 1954. In 1973, the Fiat label was replaced with the Premier name.

Pakistan
Raja Motors are the authorized manufacturers of Fiat motor vehicles in Pakistan since 1948. The manufacturing started with VESPA scooters in 1948. The project was expanded in 2001 to facilitate assembly-cum-manufacturing of the Fiat Uno. The production facility is located in Landhi Industrial Area, Karachi, Pakistan.

Sri Lanka
In 1973, entrepreneur Upali Wijewardena's Upali Motor Company began assembly of the local variant of Fiat 128, known as UMC-Fiat 128. Production ended with the introduction of the open-market economy in 1978.

North Korea
The North Korean car manufacturer and dealer Pyeonghwa Motors assembles two Fiat models under licence since 2002: Hwiparam (whistle)—based on the Fiat Siena, Bbeokgugi (owl)—based on the Fiat Doblò.

China
Fiat entered into a 50:50 joint venture with GAC Group in 2010 to create GAC Fiat Automobiles Co, with a factory in Changsha completed in 2012 producing a localised version of the Dodge Dart sold as the Fiat Viaggio.

title: Fiat S.p.A.


text:
210

Year 210 (CCX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Faustinus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 963 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 210 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Having suffered heavy losses since invading Scotland in 208, Emperor Septimius Severus sends his son - Caracalla - to systematically wipe out and torture the Scots into submission.

Births

 * May 10 – Claudius II, Roman emperor (d. 270)
 * Dexippus, Greek historian and general (d. 273)
 * Egnatius Lucillianus, Roman governor (d. 244)
 * Ruan Ji, Chinese musician and poet (d. 263)

Deaths

 * Cao Chun, Chinese general and adviser (b. 170)
 * Liu Hong, Chinese astronomer and politician (b. 129)
 * Sextus Empiricus, Greek philosopher and writer
 * Zhou Yu, Chinese general and strategist (b. 175)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: 210


text:
UÇK

UÇK may refer to:

 * Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës, UÇK)
 * National Liberation Army (NLA; Ushtria Çlirimtare Kombëtare, UÇK)

title: UÇK


text:
Kosovo Liberation Army

The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës, UÇK) was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the 1990s. Albanian nationalism was a central tenet of the KLA and many in its ranks supported the creation of a Greater Albania, which would encompass all Albanians in the Balkans, stressing Albanian culture, ethnicity and nation.

Military precursors to the KLA began in the late 1980s with armed resistance to Yugoslav police trying to take Albanian activists in custody. By the early 1990s there were attacks on police forces and secret-service officials who abused Albanian civilians. By mid-1998 the KLA was involved in frontal battle though it was outnumbered and outgunned. Conflict escalated from 1997 onward due to the Yugoslav army retaliating with a crackdown in the region which resulted in population displacements. The bloodshed, ethnic cleansing of thousands of Albanians driving them into neighbouring countries and the potential of it to destabilize the region provoked intervention by international organizations, such as the United Nations, NATO and INGOs. NATO supported the KLA and intervened on its behalf in March 1999.

In September 1999, with the fighting over and an international force in place within Kosovo, the KLA was officially disbanded and thousands of its members entered the Kosovo Protection Corps, a civilian emergency protection body that replaced the KLA and Kosovo Police Force, as foreseen in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244. The ending of the Kosovo war resulted in the emergence of offshoot guerilla groups and political organisations from the KLA continuing violent struggles in southern Serbia (1999–2001) and northwestern Macedonia (2001), which resulted in peace talks and greater Albanian rights. Former KLA leaders also entered politics, some of them reaching high-ranking offices.

The KLA received large funds from Albanian diaspora organizations. There have been allegations that it used narcoterrorism to finance its operations. Abuses and war crimes were committed by the KLA during and after the conflict, such as massacres of civilians, prison camps and destruction of cultural heritage sites. In April 2014, the Assembly of Kosovo considered and approved the establishment of a special court to try cases involving crimes and other serious abuses allegedly committed in 1999–2000 by members of the KLA. In June 2020 the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office filed indictments for crimes against humanity and war crimes against a number of former KLA members, including the former president of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi.

Background
A key precursor to the Kosovo Liberation Army was the People's Movement of Kosovo (LPK). This group, who argued Kosovo's freedom could be won only through armed struggle, traces back to 1982, and played a crucial role in the creation of the KLA in 1993. Fund-raising began in the 1980s in Switzerland by Albanian exiles of the violence of 1981 and subsequent émigrés. Slobodan Milošević revoked Kosovan autonomy in 1989, returning the region to its 1945 status, ejecting ethnic Albanians from the Kosovan bureaucracy and violently putting down protests. In response, Kosovar Albanians established the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). Headed by Ibrahim Rugova, its goal was independence from Serbia, but via peaceful means. To this end, the LDK set up and developed a "parallel state" with a particular focus on education and healthcare.

Albanian nationalism was a central tenet of the KLA and many in its ranks supported the creation of a Greater Albania, which would encompass all Albanians in the Balkans, stressing Albanian culture, ethnicity and nation. It was considered a terrorist group until the breakup of Yugoslavia. The KLA itself disavowed the creation of a 'Greater Albania'. The KLA made their name known publicly for the first time in 1995, and a first public appearance followed in 1997, at which time its membership was still only around 200. Critical of the progress made by Rugova, the KLA received boosts from the 1995 Dayton Accords— these granted Kosovo nothing, and so generated a more widespread rejection of the LDK's peaceful methods — and from looted weaponry that spilled into Kosovo after the Albanian rebellion of 1997. During 1997–98, the Kosovo Liberation Army moved ahead of Rugova's LDK, a fact starkly illustrated by the KLA's Hashim Thaçi leading the Kosovar Albanians at the Rambouillet negotiations of spring 1999, with Rugova as his deputy.

In February 1996, the KLA undertook a series of attacks against police stations and Yugoslav government officers, saying that they had killed Albanian civilians as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign. Later that year, the British weekly The European carried an article by a French expert stating that "German civil and military intelligence services have been involved in training and equipping the rebels with the aim of cementing German influence in the Balkan area. (...) The birth of the KLA in 1996 coincided with the appointment of Hansjoerg Geiger as the new head of the BND (German secret Service). (...) The BND men were in charge of selecting recruits for the KLA command structure from the 500,000 Kosovars in Albania." Matthias Küntzel tried to prove later on that German secret diplomacy had been instrumental in helping the KLA since its creation.

Serbian authorities denounced the KLA as a terrorist organisation and increased the number of security forces in the region. This had the effect of boosting the credibility of the embryonic KLA among the Kosovar Albanian population. Not long before NATO's military action commenced, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants reported that "Kosovo Liberation Army ... attacks aimed at trying to 'cleanse' Kosovo of its ethnic Serb population."

One of the goals mentioned by the KLA commanders was the formation of Greater Albania, irredentist concept of lands that are considered to form the national homeland by many Albanians, encompassing Kosovo, Albania, and the ethnic Albanian minority of neighbouring Macedonia and Montenegro.

Kosovo War
Between 5 and 7 March 1998, the Yugoslav Army launched an operation on Prekaz. The operation followed an earlier firefight (28 February) in which four policemen were killed and several more were wounded; Adem Jashari, a KLA leader, escaped. In Prekaz, 28 militants were killed, along with 30 civilians, most belonging to Jashari's family. Amnesty International claimed that it was a military operation focused primarily on the elimination of Jashari and his family.

On 23 April 1998, the Yugoslav Army (VJ) ambushed the KLA near the Albanian-Yugoslav border. The KLA had tried to smuggle arms and supplies into Kosovo. The Yugoslav Army, although greatly outnumbered, had no casualties, while 19 militants were killed.

According to Roland Keith, a field office director of the OSCE's Kosovo Verification Mission:

"Upon my arrival the war increasingly evolved into a mid intensity conflict as ambushes, the encroachment of critical lines of communication and the [KLA] kidnapping of security forces resulted in a significant increase in government casualties which in turn led to major Yugoslavian reprisal security operations... By the beginning of March these terror and counter-terror operations led to the inhabitants of numerous villages fleeing, or being dispersed to either other villages, cities or the hills to seek refuge... The situation was clearly that KLA provocations, as personally witnessed in ambushes of security patrols which inflicted fatal and other casualties, were clear violations of the previous October's agreement [and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1199]."

At one point during the Kosovo War, the KLA changed their tactics from hit and run operations to conventional warfare. In July 1998, the KLA captured the then cities of Orahovac and Mališevo and expanded their occupation of territory to 40% of Kosovo. However, without enough manpower and heavy weaponry to defend their gains, the cities of Orahovac and Mališevo quickly fell to Yugoslav forces. Their occupation of Orahovac was marred by acts of atrocities committed against Serbian civilians. On 24 August 1998, the KLA reverted to guerilla warfare and employed new tactics including the appointment of new commanders, central authorities, expanded training camps and military prisons.

Some sources say that the KLA never won a battle, while others say it won relatively few battles.

Funding
The KLA received large funds from the Albanian diaspora in Europe and the United States, but also from Albanian businessmen in Kosovo. It is estimated that those funds amounted from $75 million to $100 million and mainly came from the Albanian diaspora in Switzerland, United States and Germany. The KLA received the majority of its funds through the Homeland Calls Fund, but significant funds were also transferred directly to the war zones. Apart from the financial contributions, the KLA also received contributions in kind, especially from the United States and Switzerland. These included weapons, but also military fatigues, boots and other supporting equipment.

The KLA received its funding in multiple, decentralized ways. Apart from the Homeland Calls Fund, which mostly went to KLA operations in the Drenica region, the KLA also received donations through personal contacts of commanders with Albanians in the diaspora. Members of the diaspora usually stressed the difficulties through which KLA's soldiers were going through to fight an uneven battle. They often used stories of KLA members or civilian survivors of massacres to convince others to donate. After collection, the money was then transferred to its destination in different ways. The secrecy of the Swiss banking system allowed some of the funding to be transferred directly to the locations where military equipment would be purchased. From the United States, most of the money was legally carried by individuals in suitcases, who reported to the FBI and other federal authorities that they were sending money to the KLA. The KLA also received some funding from the Three-Percent Fund, which was set up by the institutions of Republic of Kosova led by Bujar Bukoshi and was also collected from the Albanian diaspora.

According to some sources, the KLA may have received funds from individuals involved in drug trade. However insufficient evidence exists that the KLA itself was involved in such activities. For example, Swiss citizens believe that elements of the Albanian community in Switzerland control narcotics trade in Switzerland. Some of the money earned through these illegal activities may have gone to the KLA through contributions to the Homeland Calls Fund or through the usual funding channels in which individuals and businessmen engaged in legitimate economic activities donated. This however is insufficient evidence to claim that the KLA itself got involved in narcotics trade or other criminal activities.

In a hearing before the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, Ralf Mutschke from the Interpol General Secretariat claimed that half of the funding that had reached the KLA, which he estimated to have been 900 million DM in total, may have come from drug trafficking. Mother Jones obtained a congressional briefing paper for the U.S. Congress, which stated: "We would be remiss to dismiss allegations that between 30 and 50 percent of the KLA's money comes from drugs." Furthermore, journalist Peter Klebnikov added that after the NATO bombing, KLA-linked heroin traffickers began using Kosovo again as a major supply route. Citing German Federal Police, he said that in 2000, an estimated 80% of Europe's heroin supply was controlled by Kosovar Albanians. According to scholars Gary Dempsey and Roger Fontaine, by 1999, Western intelligence agencies estimated that over $250m of narcotics money had found its way into KLA coffers. Scholar Henry Perritt, who studied the KLA, argues that "[a]ll available evidence refutes the proposition aggressively advanced by the Milosevic regime that the KLA was mainly financed by drug and prostitution money."

In Kosovo
The original core of KLA in the early 1990s was a closely knitted group of commanders consisting of commissioned and non commissioned officers belonging to reserve, regular and territorial defense units of the Yugoslav army (JNA). In 1996, the KLA consisted of only a few hundred fighters. Within the context of the armed struggle, in 1996-1997 a report by the CIA noted that the KLA could mobilize tens of thousands of supporters in Kosovo within a two to three year time frame. By the end of 1998, the KLA had 17,000 men. Religion did not play a role within the KLA and some of its most committed fund raisers and fighters came from the Catholic community.

Foreign volunteers
Albanian recruits from neighbouring Macedonia joined the KLA and their numbers ranged from several dozen into the thousands. Following the war some Albanians from Macedonia have felt that their military participation and assistance to fellow Kosovan Albanians during the conflict has not been properly recognised in Kosovo.

Former KLA spokesman Jakup Krasniqi said that volunteers came from "Sweden, Belgium, the UK, Germany and the U.S.". The KLA included many foreign volunteers from West Europe, mostly from Germany and Switzerland, and also ethnic Albanians from the U.S.

According to the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by September 1998 there were foreign mercenaries from Albania, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Muslims) and Chechnya in the KLA ranks. Citing a 2003 report by the Serbian government, academics Lyubov Mincheva and Ted Gurr claim that the Abu Bekir Sidik mujahideen unit of 115 members operated in Drenica in May–June 1998, and dozen of its members were Saudis and Egyptians, reportedly funded by Islamist organizations. They further claim that the group was later disbanded, and no permanent Jihadist presence was established.The failure of Islamists groups to gain a foothold with the ranks of the separatist movement is related to the secular foundation of Albanian nationalism and the heavily secular attitudes of Kosovo Albanian which didn't leave room for the development of Islamist ideologies.

During the Kosovo conflict Milošević and his supporters portrayed the KLA as a terrorist organisation of militant Islam. The CIA advised the KLA to avoid involvement with Muslim extremists. The KLA rejected offers of assistance from Muslim fundamentalists. There was an understanding within the ranks of the KLA that foreign assistance from Muslim fundamentalists would limit support toward the cause of Kosovo Albanians in the West.

Aftermath (post-1999)
After the war, the KLA was transformed into the Kosovo Protection Corps, which worked alongside NATO forces patrolling the province. In 2000 there was unrest in Mitrovica, with a Yugoslav police officer and physician killed, and three officers and a physician wounded, in February. In March, the FRY complained about the escalation of violence in the region, claiming this showed that the KLA was still active. Between April and September the FRY issued several documents to the UN Security Council about violence against Serbs and other non-Albanians.

Some people from non-Albanian communities such as the Serbs and Romani fled Kosovo, some fearing revenge attacks by armed people and returning refugees and others were pressured by the KLA and armed gangs to leave. The Yugoslav Red Cross had estimated a total of 30,000 refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Kosovo, most of whom were Serb. The UNHCR estimated the figure at 55,000 refugees who had fled to Montenegro and Central Serbia, most of whom were Kosovo Serbs: "Over 90 mixed villages in Kosovo have now been emptied of Serb inhabitants and other Serbs continue leaving, either to be displaced in other parts of Kosovo or fleeing into central Serbia."

In post war Kosovo, KLA fighters have been venerated by Kosovar Albanian society with the publishing of literature such as biographies, the erection of monuments and commemorative events. The exploits of Adem Jashari have been celebrated and turned into legend by former KLA members and by Kosovar Albanian society. Several songs, literature works, monuments, memorials have been dedicated to him, and some streets and buildings bear his name across Kosovo.

Insurgency in south Serbia and Macedonia
After the end of the Kosovo War in 1999 with the signing of the Kumanovo agreement, a 5-kilometre-wide Ground Safety Zone (GSZ) was created. It served as a buffer zone between the Yugoslav Army and the Kosovo Force (KFOR). In June 1999, a new Albanian militant insurgent group was formed under the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (UÇPMB), which started training in the GSZ. The group began attacking Serbian civilians and police, which escalated into an insurgency.

With the signing of the Končulj Agreement in May 2001, the former KLA and UÇPMB fighters next moved to western Macedonia where they established the National Liberation Army (NLA), which fought against the Macedonian government in 2001. Ali Ahmeti organized the NLA from former KLA and UÇPMB fighters from Kosovo, Albanian insurgents from the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac in Serbia, young Albanian radicals, nationalists from Macedonia, and foreign mercenaries. The acronym was the same as the KLA's in Albanian.

KLA veterans in politics
A number of KLA figures now play a major role in Kosovar politics.
 * Hashim Thaçi, the political head of the KLA, is leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and served a term as prime minister from January 2008. In 2011, he was identified in leaked Western military intelligence reports as a "big fish" in Kosovan organized crime. He was President of Kosovo since 7 April 2016 until his resignation on 5 November 2020. On 24 June 2020 the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office filed a ten-count Indictment, charging Hashim Thaçi and others for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
 * Agim Çeku, the KLA's military chief, became Prime Minister of Kosovo after the war. The move caused some controversy in Serbia, as Belgrade regarded him as a war criminal, though he was never indicted by the Hague tribunal.
 * Ramush Haradinaj, a KLA commander, is the founder and currently the leader of Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and served briefly as Prime Minister of Kosovo before he turned himself into the ICTY at The Hague to stand trial on war crimes charges. He was later acquitted. From 2017 to 2020 he was again Prime Minister of Kosovo.
 * Fatmir Limaj, a senior commander of the KLA, is now the leader of the Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA). He was also tried at The Hague, and was acquitted of all charges in November 2005.

Indictments
Hajredin Bala, an ex-KLA prison guard, was sentenced on 30 November 2005 to 13 years' imprisonment for the mistreatment of three prisoners at the Llapushnik prison camp, his personal role in the "maintenance and enforcement of the inhumane conditions" of the camp, aiding the torture of one prisoner, and of participating in the murder of nine prisoners from the camp who were marched to the Berisha Mountains on 25 or 26 July 1998 and killed. Bala appealed the sentence and the appeal is still pending.

Foreign support

The United States (and NATO) directly supported the KLA. The CIA funded, trained and supplied the KLA (as they had earlier the Bosnian Army). As disclosed to The Sunday Times by CIA sources, "American intelligence agents have admitted they helped to train the Kosovo Liberation Army before NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia".

James Bissett, Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania, wrote in 2001 on the Toronto Star that media reports indicate that "as early as 1998, the Central Intelligence Agency assisted by the British Special Air Service were arming and training Kosovo Liberation Army members in Albania to foment armed rebellion in Kosovo. (...) The hope was that with Kosovo in flames NATO could intervene ...". According to Tim Judah, KLA representatives had already met with American, British, and Swiss intelligence agencies in 1996, and possibly "several years earlier".

American Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, while opposed to American ground troops in Kosovo, advocated for America providing support to the KLA to help them gain their freedom. He was honored by the Albanian American Civic League at a New Jersey located fundraising event on 23 July 2001. President of the League, Joseph J. DioGuardi, praised Rohrabacher for his support to the KLA, saying "He was the first member of Congress to insist that the United States arm the Kosovo Liberation Army, and one of the few members who to this day publicly supports the independence of Kosovo." Rohrabacher gave a speech in support of American equipping the KLA with weaponry, comparing it to French support of America in the Revolutionary War.

War crimes

There have been reports of war crimes committed by the KLA both during and after the conflict. These have been directed against Serbs, other ethnic minorities (primarily the Roma) and against ethnic Albanians accused of collaborating with Serb authorities. According to a 2001 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW):

The KLA was responsible for serious abuses... including abductions and murders of Serbs and ethnic Albanians considered collaborators with the state.

Elements of the KLA are also responsible for post-conflict attacks on Serbs, Roma, and other non-Albanians, as well as ethnic Albanian political rivals... widespread and systematic burning and looting of homes belonging to Serbs, Roma, and other minorities and the destruction of Orthodox churches and monasteries... combined with harassment and intimidation designed to force people from their homes and communities... elements of the KLA are clearly responsible for many of these crimes.

The KLA engaged in tit-for-tat attacks against Serbs in Kosovo, reprisals against ethnic Albanians who "collaborated" with the Serbian government, and bombed police stations and cafes known to be frequented by Serb officials, killing innocent civilians in the process. Most of its activities were funded by drug running, though its ties to community groups and Albanian exiles gave it local popularity.

The Panda Bar incident, a massacre of Serb teenagers in a café, led to an immediate crackdown on the Albanian-populated southern quarters of Peć during which Serbian police killed two Albanians. This has been alleged by the Serbian newspaper Kurir to have been organized by the Serbian government, while Aleksandar Vučić has stated that there is no evidence that the murder was committed by Albanians, as previously believed. The Serbian Organised Crime Prosecutor's Office launched a new investigation in 2016 and reached the conclusion that the massacre was not perpetrated by Albanians. Many years after the incident, the Serbian government has officially acknowledged that it was perpetrated by agents of the Serbian Secret Service.

The exact number of victims of the KLA is not known. According to a Serbian government report, the KLA had killed and kidnapped 3,276 people of various ethnic descriptions including some Albanians. From 1 January 1998 to 10 June 1999 the KLA killed 988 people and kidnapped 287; in the period from 10 June 1999 to 11 November 2001, when NATO took control in Kosovo, 847 were reported to have been killed and 1,154 kidnapped. This comprised both civilians and security force personnel. Of those killed in the first period, 335 were civilians, 351 soldiers, 230 police and 72 were unidentified. By nationality, 87 of the killed civilians were Serbs, 230 Albanians, and 18 of other nationalities. Following the withdrawal of Serbian and Yugoslav security forces from Kosovo in June 1999, all casualties were civilians, the vast majority being Serbs. According to Human Rights Watch, as "many as one thousand Serbs and Roma have been murdered or have gone missing since 12 June 1999... elements of the KLA are clearly responsible for many of these crimes".

A Serbian court sentenced 9 former KLA members for murdering 32 non-Albanian civilians. In the same case, another 35 civilians are missing while 153 were tortured and released.

Use of child soldiers
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989, entered into force on 2 September 1990 and was valid throughout the conflict. Article 38 of this Convention state the age of 15 as the minimum for recruitment or participation in armed conflict. Article 38 requires state parties to prevent anyone under the age of 15 from taking direct part in hostilities and to refrain from recruiting anyone under the age of 15 years.

The participation of persons under the age of 18 in the KLA was confirmed in October 2000 when details of the registration of 16,024 KLA soldiers by the International Organization for Migration in Kosovo became known. Ten percent of this number were under the age of 18. The majority of them were 16 and 17 years old. Around 2% were below the age of 16. These were mainly girls recruited to cook for the soldiers rather than to actually fight.

Organ theft allegations
Carla Del Ponte, a long-time ICTY chief prosecutor, claimed in her book The Hunt: Me and the War Criminals (2008) that there were instances of organ trafficking in 1999 after the end of the Kosovo War. The allegations have been rejected by Kosovar authorities as fabrications while the ICTY has said "no reliable evidence had been obtained to substantiate the allegations". In early 2011 the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs viewed a report by Dick Marty on the alleged criminal activities and alleged organ harvesting controversy; however, the Members of Parliament criticised the report, citing lack of evidence, and Marty responded that a witness protection program was needed in Kosovo before he could provide more details on witnesses because their lives were in danger.

In 2011, France 24 obtained a classified document which dated back to 2003 and revealed that the UN knew about the organ trafficking before it was mentioned by Carla del Ponte in 2008.

In July 2014, American attorney Clint Williamson, the former United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, announced that he and his team had found "compelling indications" that approximately 10 prisoners had been killed so their organs could be harvested. "The fact that it occurred on a limited scale does not diminish the savagery of such a crime," Williamson said, but added that the level of evidence was insufficient to file charges against any particular individual.

Murders
On 24 June 2020, Thaçi, then President of Kosovo, Kadri Veseli and eight other former leaders of the CIA-backed KLA, were indicted by the Specialist Prosecutor's Office (SPO) at the International Court of Justice in Hague. The indictment charges the suspects with approximately 100 murders of Kosovo Albanians, Kosovo Serbs, Kosovo Roma, and political opponents. According to the Specialist Prosecutor it was necessary to make the issue public due to repeated efforts by Thaçi and Veseli to obstruct and undermine the work of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

Massacres

 * Klečka killings (26–27 August 1998) – 22 burnt bodies were found in a makeshift crematorium; Serbia has attributed the killings to the KLA.
 * Lake Radonjić massacre (9 September 1998) – 34 individuals of Serb, Roma and Albanian ethnicity were discovered by a Serbian forensic team near the lake. Serbia has attributed the killing to the KLA and other Kosovan militants.
 * Mališevo mass grave - After being kidnapped and held in detention by the KLA, 12 Serbs and 1 Bulgarian civilian were massacred with their remains discovered in a mass grave in the town of Mališevo.
 * Gnjilane killings – The remains of 80 Serbs were discovered after they were killed, allegedly by members of the KLA's Gnjilane Group, who were tried in absentia by a Serbian court and found guilty. A mass grave was found in Čena(r) Česma near Gnjilane.
 * Orahovac massacre – More than 100 Serbian and Roma civilians from Orahovac and its surrounding villages - Retimlje, Opterusa, Zočište and Velika Hoca - in western Kosovo were kidnapped and placed in prison camps by KLA fighters; 47 were killed and their grave found in 2005.
 * Staro Gracko massacre – 14 Serbian farmers were murdered. Perpetrators were never found.
 * Ugljare mass grave – 15 bodies of Serbs found in a mass grave, reported on 25 August 1999 by KFOR. The KFOR exhumed the mass grave on 27 July. 14 Serbs had been shot, stabbed or clubbed. Ugljare, Gnjilane was a KLA stronghold.
 * Volujak massacre – According to Serb authorities, 25 male Kosovo Serb civilians were murdered. Serbia attributes the killings to the KLA "Orahovac group".

In 2003, the daily Serbian newspaper Večernje novosti published wartime photographs of three KLA soldiers with the heads of decapitated Serbs. The newspaper identified two of the three KLA members as Sadik Chuflaj and his son Valon Chuflaj, who according to the newspaper then worked for the Kosovo Protection Corps. Bojan Cvetkovic, a volunteer soldier who had been only on duty for weeks was identified as one of the victims while the Serbian Radical Party later confirmed that soldier Aleksandar Njegovic who was a SRP member, was the second victim out of three other soldiers that went missing at the same time.

Destroyed medieval churches and monuments
Cultural historian András Riedlmayer stated that no Serbian Orthodox churches or monasteries were damaged or destroyed by the KLA during the war. Riedlmayer and Andrew Herscher conducted a survey of Kosovo cultural heritage for the ICTY and UNMIK following the war and their results found that most of the damage to the churches occurred during revenge attacks following the conflict and the return of Kosovo Albanian refugees. In 1999 KLA fighters were accused of vandalizing Devič monastery and terrorizing the staff. The KFOR troops said KLA rebels vandalized centuries-old murals and paintings in the chapel and stole two cars and all the monastery's food.

Karima Bennoune, United Nations special rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, referred to the many reports of widespread attacks against churches committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army. In 2014, John Clint Williamson announced EU Special Investigative Task Force's investigative findings and he indicated that a certain element of the KLA following the conclusion of the war (June 1999) intentionally targeted minority populations in organized ethnic cleansing campaign with acts of persecution that also included desecration and destruction of churches and other religious sites. Fabio Maniscalco, an Italian archaeologist, specialist about the protection of cultural property, described that KLA members seized icons and liturgical ornaments as they ransacked and that they proceeded to destroy Christian Orthodox churches and monasteries with mortar bombs after the arrival of KFOR.

Prison camps

 * Lapušnik prison camp – Haradin Bala, a KLA prison guard, was found guilty by the ICTY of torture and mistreatment of prisoners crimes committed at the camp.
 * Jablanica prison camp – 10 individuals were detained and tortured by KLA forces including: one Serb, three Montenegrins, one Bosnian, three Albanians, and two victims of unknown ethnicity.

Several survivors of KLA run prison camps in Albania have come forward to tell their stories of being kidnapped and transported to these camps where they witnessed the torture and killing of other prisoners. In 2009, eyewitness testimonies from former inmates and KLA fighters described the detention of Albanian, Roma and Serb civilians from the area of Prizren in KLA run prison camps in the Albanian town of Kukës. Despite the prison camp initially being set up, with assistance from the Albanian army, to detain unruly KLA fighters, acts of torture and extrajudicial killings were committed by the KLA against Albanian, Roma, and Serb civilians. According to one former KLA fighter:

"It didn't seem strange at the time...but now, looking back, I know that some of the things that were done to innocent civilians were wrong. But the people who did those things act as if nothing happened, and continue to hurt their own people, Albanians."

Sexual violence
Since the entry of the NATO-led Kosovo Force, rapes of Serb and Romani, as well as Albanian women perceived as collaborators, by ethnic Albanians and sometimes by KLA members have been documented.

Status as a terrorist group
The Yugoslav authorities, under Slobodan Milošević, regarded the KLA as terrorist group. In February 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton's special envoy to the Balkans, Robert Gelbard, condemned both the actions of the Serb government and of the KLA, and described the KLA as "without any questions, a terrorist group". UN resolution 1160 took a similar stance.

Allegedly the 1997 U.S. State Department's official list of "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" did not include the KLA but the U.S. State Department might have listed it as a terrorist organization in 1998 presumably by the fact that it was financing its operations with money from the international heroin trade and loans from Islamic countries and individuals, among them allegedly Osama bin Laden. In March 1998, just one month later Gerbald had to modify his statements to say that KLA had not been classified legally by the U.S. government as a terrorist group, and the U.S. government approached the KLA leaders to make them interlocutors with the Serbs. The Wall Street Journal claimed later that the U.S. government had in February 1998 removed the KLA from the list of terrorist organisations, a removal that has never been confirmed. France delisted the KLA in late 1998, after strong U.S. and UK lobbying. KLA is still present in the MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base list of terrorist groups, and is listed as an inactive terrorist organisation by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. Throughout its existence the KLA was designated as a terrorist group by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

During the war, the KLA troops collaborated with the NATO troops, and one of its members was called by NATO the embodiment of the Kosovo "freedom fighters". In late 1999 the KLA was disbanded and its members entered the Kosovo Protection Corps. Most states which faced on their territory international activity by the KLA never officially designated it as a terrorist organization.

Investigations for war crimes
In 2005, the KLA commander Haradin Bala was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Serbs and Albanians by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. KLA commanders and later Kosovo politicians, Ramush Haradinaj and Fatmir Limaj were acquitted, but the court noted that there were difficulties because many witnesses were fearful of giving testimonies, while others changed their testimonies and some died in mysterious circumstances. In addition, there were convictions for witness-tampering regarding these two cases.

In 2010, a report by the Council of Europe accused KLA guerrillas of killing civilian Serbs and ethnic Albanian political opponents. Based on the Council of Europe report, the Special Investigative Task Force (SITF) was created in 2011 to investigate the allegations. The SITF chief prosecutor presented his general findings in 2014 resulting in the creation of the specialist chambers in The Hague to adjudicate the cases.

In April 2014, the Assembly of Kosovo considered and approved the establishment of a special court of Kosovo to try alleged war crimes and other serious abuses committed during and after the 1998–99 Kosovo war. The court will adjudicate cases against individuals based on a 2010 Council of Europe report by the Swiss senator Dick Marty. The proceedings will be EU-funded and held in The Hague, though it would still be a Kosovo national court. Defendants will likely include members of the Kosovo Liberation Army who are alleged to have committed crimes against ethnic minorities and political opponents, meaning the court is likely to meet with some unpopularity at home, where the KLA are still widely considered heroes.

In 2017, ten members of the KLA, including Sylejman Selimi who was ex-head of the Kosovo Security Force and later ambassador to Albania, were convicted for war crimes against civilians.

On June 24, 2020, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office filed a ten-count Indictment, charging Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli and others for crimes against humanity and war crimes. The prosecutors said that Hashim Thaci and Kadri Veseli repeatedly tried to obstruct and undermine the work of the KSC (Special Court of Kosovo), "in an attempt to ensure that they do not face justice". In July 2020, Thaçi was questioned by war crimes prosecutors at The Hague.

In September 2020, Agim Çeku was summoned by the prosecutors as a war crimes suspect. The same month, the former KLA commander Salih Mustafa was arrested and transferred to the detention facilities in The Hague, based on a "warrant, transfer order and confirmed indictment issued by a pre-trial judge". Mustafa was charged with the war crimes of arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder. The same month, Hysni Gucati (Chairman of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans Association) and Nasim Haradinaj (Deputy Chairman of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans Association) were also arrested and transferred to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers's Detention Unit. They were charged for obstructing Special Court of Kosovo officials in performing their duties, intimidation during criminal proceedings, retaliation and violating secrecy of proceedings.

In November 2020, Thaci, a deputy in the Kosovo parliament Rexhep Selimi, the president of Thaci's Kosovo Democratic Party Kadri Veseli and veteran Kosovo politician Jakup Krasniqi were arrested and transferred to the detention center of the Kosovo Tribunal in The Hague on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In December 2020, the Parliament of Albania decided to create a committee in order to investigate the accusations against KLA of human rights violations in both Kosovo and north Albania where it had bases. Prime Minister Edi Rama accused the opposition chief Lulzim Basha of helping the UN to investigate the KLA and called him a traitor. Basha denied the accusations.

In 2020, Serbian authorities arrested Nezir Mehmetaj at the Merdare. He is accused of participating in war crimes against civilians including murders and burning and looting of private properties in the village of Rudice at Klina during the war. He denied the accusations.

In February 2021, the president of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Ekaterina Trendafilova, informed the European diplomats that there were increasing efforts from Kosovo to undermine the court's work and warned about the safety of the witnesses. She mentioned that there were attempts to challenge the law and to pardon those convicted of crimes. In addition she said that Kosovo is trying hard to move the court from Hague to Pristina (capital of Kosovo) and such a move would "risk the lives, safety and security of the people who have or will be willing to cooperate with the court".

In March 2021, Belgian authorities arrested Pjeter Shala, a former KLA commander on war crimes charges.

The United States Country Reports on Human Rights Practices of 2021 reported that "leading politicians, civil society leaders and veterans organisations" in Kosovo were trying to undermine the Hague court.

In May 2022, more charges were added for war crimes allegedly committed in 1998 and 1999 by KLA members at the dormitories in Budakove and Semetishte. According to the final indictment, most of the crimes committed at detention centres in Kosovo and Albania.

In December 2022 Salih Mustafa, who had been arrested in September 2020, was convicted, in The Hague, of the war crimes of arbitrary detention, torture, and murder, but not convicted of cruel treatment for legal reasons. He was sentenced to 26 years in prison. The Trial Panel also mentioned that the victims and witnesses have showed tremendous courage cooperating with the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor, because they were subjected to threats and intimidation in Kosovo for their cooperation.

Kosovo provides help to former KLA members but does not support the victims of war crimes, despite the Chambers requests.

Prominent people

 * Zahir Pajaziti (born 1962), commander, from Podujevo
 * Ramush Haradinaj (born 1968), commander, also KPC, from Deçan
 * Agim Çeku (born 1960), commander, also KPC, from Peja
 * Lahi Brahimaj (born 1970), commander, also KPC, from Gjakova
 * Sylejman Selimi (born 1970), commander, also KPC, from Drenica
 * Fadil Nimani (1967–2001), commander, also NLA, from Gjakova
 * Rahim Beqiri (1957–2001), commander, also UÇPMB and NLA, from Koprivnica
 * Tahir Sinani (1964–2001), commander, also KPC and NLA, from Bujan
 * Fatmir Limaj (born 1971), commander, from Malisheva
 * Abdullah Tahiri (born 1956), commander, from Gjilan
 * Adem Jashari (1955–1998), commander, founding figure, from Drenica
 * Njazi Azemi (1970–2001), commander, also UÇPMB, from Vitia
 * Agim Ramadani (1973–1999), commander, from Gjilan
 * Tahir Zemaj (1956–2003), commander, from Gjakova
 * Arben Ramadani (1981–2000), commander, also UÇPMB, from Gjilan
 * Daut Haradinaj (born 1978), commander, also KPC, from Deçan
 * Hashim Thaçi (born 1968), staff, from Drenica
 * Kadri Veseli (born 1967), staff, from Mitrovica
 * Adem Grabovci (born 1960), staff, from Peja
 * Isak Musliu (born 1970), soldier, from Shtime
 * Indrit Cara (1971–1999), soldier, from Kavajë
 * Mujdin Aliu (1974–1999), soldier, from Tetovo
 * Naim Maloku (born 1958), soldier, from Novo Brdo
 * Ismet Jashari (1967–1998), soldier, from Kumanovo
 * Jakup Krasniqi (born 1951), spokesman, from Drenica

title: Kosovo Liberation Army


text:
KLA

KLA may refer to:

Military

 * Korean Liberation Army, created in 1940
 * Kosovo Liberation Army, Kosovo-Albanian insurgent organization

Organizations

 * Kansas Library Association
 * Kentucky Library Association
 * Kerala Library Association
 * Kerala Legislative Assembly
 * KLA Corporation, semiconductor equipment company

Other

 * Kampala Airport, Uganda - IATA code
 * Klamath-Modoc language, ISO 639-3 code kla

title: KLA