Within hours, a group of primarily unknown, but suspected KLA gunmen attacked a Serb-owned café in Peja, killing six unarmed Serb youths.

[5] As soon as Kosovo's autonomy was abolished, a minority government run by Serbs and Montenegrins was appointed by Serbian President Slobodan Milošević to oversee the province, enforced by thousands of heavily armed paramilitaries from Serbia-proper.

[6] The group quickly gained popularity among young Kosovo Albanians, many of whom favoured a more aggressive approach and rejected the non-violent resistance of politician Ibrahim Rugova.

[7] It received a significant boost in 1997 when civil unrest in neighbouring Albania led to thousands of weapons from the Albanian Army's depots being looted.

[8] The group's popularity skyrocketed after the VJ and MUP attacked the compound of KLA leader Adem Jashari in March 1998, killing him, his closest associates, and most of his extended family.

The Yugoslav Defense Ministry reported that 947 rifles, 161 light machine guns, 33 mortars, 55 mines, 3,295 hand grenades, and almost 350,000 rounds of ammunition had been confiscated over the same period.

[10] In October 1998, Milošević and U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke reached an agreement to temporarily end the fighting, whereby Yugoslavia would halve the number of troops and police personnel stationed in Kosovo.

The agreement came after Holbrooke convinced the KLA to consider negotiations with Belgrade while making it clear to Milošević that failing to find a peaceful solution to the conflict would lead to a NATO bombing campaign against Serbia.

[13] At around 02:00 on the morning of Monday, December 14, 1998, 140 KLA militants[14][15] tried to illegally cross the Albanian–Yugoslav border[16] between the outposts of Gorozhup and Liken, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) west of Pristina.

[21] Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers were also escorted to the site, and reported seeing 31 bodies in camouflage uniforms with KLA insignia.

[25] That evening, suspected KLA gunmen entered a Serb-owned café in Peja and opened fire on the patrons, killing six Serb youths.

[26] The shooting appalled foreign emissaries, and at a meeting with Milošević the following day, Holbrooke condemned it as an act of terrorism and described the situation in Kosovo as "very grave".

"[27] The VJ continued pursuing remnants of the rebel group for most of December 15, and foreign reporters noted shelling near the ambush site through much of the day.

The KLA's taking of civilian hostages drew condemnation from Western diplomats, including the head of the KVM, William Walker, who told reporters: "...