Massacre in the Bosilegrad region

The massacre in the Bosilegrad region took place in May 1917 during the First World War. Bulgaria was then fighting Greece on the southern front and in Romania on the northern front. Against this military background, diversionary and sabotage operations took place in the Morava region, and Serbian Lieutenant Kosta Pećanac was appointed to lead such activities.

Pećanac arrived in the region in September 1916 with orders to organise an uprising against Bulgarian rule, weakening the rear of the Bulgarian army and assisting breakthroughs on the Macedonian Front. On 15–16 May 1917, a band of 200 men entered the Bosilegrad region and committed violence against the Bulgarian civilian population over two days.

In Gorna and Dolna Lyubata, Bosilegrad, Dolna and Gorna Lisina, Topli Dol, and Dolna and Gorna Razhana, 32 civilians were killed, mainly elderly people, women and children. Homes were looted, and 317 houses and other buildings were burned. The Serbian raiders encountered no Bulgarian military units, allowing them to commit these crimes without immediate punishment. Armed local villagers organised resistance to protect their families.

After encountering a Bulgarian composite company from Kyustendil, Pećanac withdrew towards Kosovo. The event is remembered as one of the most brutal attacks on civilians during the First World War.