Viti ( sq-definite, Vitia) or Vitina ( sr-Cyrl, Витина), is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the

District of Gjilan The District of Gjilan ( sq, Rajoni i Gjilanit) is one of the seven districts (the higher-level administrative divisions) of Kosovo. Its seat is in the city of Gjilan. History Anamorava, literally "side of river of Morava", is the hilly countrys ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. According to the 2011 census, the town of Viti has 4,924 inhabitants, while the municipality has 46,987 inhabitants.

Municipality

* Ballancë/Balance * Beguncë/Begunce * Binça/Binač * Budrikë e Epërme/Gornja Budrika * Buzovik * Çifllak/Čiflak * Dëbëlldeh/ Debelde * Devajë/Devaja * Drobesh/Drobeš * Gërmovë/Grmovo * Gjylekar/ Đelekare * Goden i Madh/Veliki Goden * Gushicë/Gušica * Kabash/Kabaš * Letnicë/Letnica * Lubishtë/ Ljubište * Mjak/Mijak * Novosellë/Novo Selo * Podgorc/Podgorce * Pozharan/Požaranje * Radivojc/Radivojce * Ramjan/Donje Ramnjane * Ramnishtë/Ravnište * Remnik/Ribnik * Sadovinë e Çerkezëve/Čerkez Sadovina * Sadovinë e Jerlive/Jerli Sadovina * Shasharë/Šašare * Sllatinë e Epërme/Gornja Slatina * Sllatinë e Poshtme/Donja Slatina * Smirë/ Smira * Stubëll e Epërme/Gornja Stubla * Stubëll e Poshtme/Donja Stubla * Tërpezë/Trpeza * Tërstenik/Trstenik * Vërban/Vrban * Vërnakollë/Vrnavokolo * Vërnez/Vrnez * Zhiti/Žitinje

History

Ottoman period

The municipality has several settlements historically inhabited by the

Laramans The term Laraman in Albanian refers to crypto-Christians who adhered to Islam officially but continued to practice Christianity within the household during the Ottoman era. It was derived from the Albanian adjective ''i larmë'', meaning "vari ...

, crypto-Catholics.

Kosovo War and aftermath

Following the 1999

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the wa ...

, 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. The

Church of the Holy Mother of God, Podgorce Church of the Holy Mother of God was a Serbian Orthodox Church located in the village of Podgorce, in the municipality of Vitina (town), Vitina, in Kosovo and Metohija. It belonged to the Diocese of Raška and Prizren of the Serbian Orthodox Chur ...

was looted during the conflict. During the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

, the Orthodox cemetery in Viti and the village of Dobreš were hit by missiles. In August 2003, explosive devices planted in Klokot destroyed five Serb houses, with several injuries, including two American KFOR soldiers. 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.

Contemporary

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Members of the

Kosovo Police The Kosovo Police ( sq, Policia e Kosovës, sr-Cyrl, Полиција Косова, sr-Latn, Policija Kosova) is the national policing law enforcement agency of Kosovo. History A Kosovo Police Service was created in 1999 in the aftermath o ...

were present but did nothing to intervene. The incident was filmed and posted to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Demographics

According to the last official census done in 2011, the municipality of Viti has 46,987 inhabitants. Based on the population estimates from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics in 2016, the municipality has 47,370 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Notes

References

External links

Municipality of Viti
{{Authority control Municipalities of Kosovo Cities in Kosovo