the architectural heritage of the kosovo albanians during yugoslav rule was shown institutionalised disregard for decades prior to outright conflict at the end of the 20th century. numerous albanian cultural sites in kosovo were destroyed during the period of yugoslav rule and especially the kosovo conflict (1998-1999) which constituted a war crime violating the hague and geneva conventions. in all, 225 out of 600 mosques in kosovo were damaged, vandalised, or destroyed alongside other islamic architecture during the conflict. additionally 500 albanian owned "kulla" dwellings (traditional stone tower houses) and three out of four well-preserved ottoman period urban centres located in kosovo cities were badly damaged resulting in great loss of traditional architecture. kosovo's public libraries, of which 65 out of 183 were completely destroyed, amounted to a loss of 900,588 volumes, while islamic libraries sustained damage or destruction resulting in the loss of rare books, manuscripts and other collections of literature. archives belonging to the "islamic community of kosovo", records spanning 500 years, were also destroyed. during the war, islamic architectural heritage posed for yugoslav serb paramilitary and military forces as albanian patrimony with destruction of non-serbian architectural heritage being a methodical and planned component of ethnic cleansing in kosovo.