Blood Feuds in Albania: Entire Families Locked Inside Homes for Years

Last updated: 5 October 2026

Photo: Albania - Carlotta Roma

Thousands of Albania blood feud families live as prisoners in their own homes. They cannot go to work. Their children cannot go to school. They cannot visit a doctor. This is not a punishment from a court. It is a punishment from an old tradition called the Kanun. Under this tradition, if someone kills a person from another family, that family has the right to kill someone in return. To stay alive, the targeted family locks itself inside its house. Some families have lived like this for years, and even decades. This article explains how blood feuds work, who they affect, and what this means for asylum claims.[1]

Blood feuds are not just history. They happen today. International organisations like the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child have all raised concerns. Despite government promises, Albania has failed to protect these families. For expert witnesses and asylum decision-makers, understanding the real situation is very important.

What Is Self-Isolation Under the Kanun?

The Kanun is a set of old customary laws from northern Albania. It is named after Leke Dukagjini, a 15th-century Albanian nobleman. The Kanun covers many parts of life, including marriage, property, and honour. However, the most dangerous part is the rules about blood vengeance, called gjakmarrja in Albanian. This word means "blood-taking."[2]

Under the Kanun, if a man kills another man, the victim's family has the right to kill a male member of the killer's family. This is called "taking blood." The killer's family knows it is a target. To stay safe, the men in the family stay inside the house. This is called self-isolation. In theory, only adult men are targets. However, in practice, the rules have changed over time. Today, entire families often lock themselves inside, including women, children, and elderly people.[3]

Self-isolation means the family cannot leave the house. They cannot work, go to school, or visit a hospital. They depend on food brought by relatives or neighbours. Some families have been in self-isolation for more than 10 years. The house becomes a prison. The family lives in constant fear that someone will come to kill them.

The Scale of Albania Blood Feud Families

It is difficult to know exactly how many families are affected. The Albanian government says the number is small. However, independent organisations give much higher numbers. In 2012, the Albanian National Reconciliation Committee estimated that around 10,000 families were involved in blood feuds. The People's Advocate (Ombudsman) of Albania reported that over 3,000 families were in self-isolation. More recent reports from civil society groups suggest the problem has not gone away.[4]

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reported in 2012 that at least 800 children were confined to their homes because of blood feuds. Many of these children had never been to school. Some had been born into self-isolation and had never known a normal life. More recent data is difficult to find because the Albanian government does not collect or publish reliable statistics on this issue.[5]

Blood feuds are most common in northern Albania, especially in the regions of Shkodra, Lezha, Tropoja, and Kukes. However, they also occur in Tirana, Elbasan, and Durres, where families from the north have moved. In some cases, families moved to escape a blood feud, only to be found by the other family in their new location. Therefore, internal relocation does not always provide safety.

Daily Life in Isolation: Poverty, Trauma, and Despair

Life inside a self-isolated home is extremely difficult. The family loses its income because the men cannot work. In rural areas, they may have some land around the house, but they cannot farm it safely. In urban areas, the family depends completely on help from others. Many families fall into deep poverty.[6]

Children suffer the most. They cannot go to school. The Albanian government has a programme for home schooling, but it reaches very few children. Most children in self-isolation simply do not receive any education. They grow up without basic skills. They cannot read or write. They have no friends outside the family. The psychological damage is severe. Children report feelings of fear, hopelessness, and depression.[7]

Access to healthcare is another serious problem. Self-isolated families cannot visit a doctor or hospital. If someone gets sick, they must wait for a relative to bring medicine. In emergencies, some families risk going outside, but this is dangerous. There are reports of people dying at home because they were too afraid to go to a hospital. Mental health problems are very common, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, mental health services in Albania are very limited, even for people who are not in self-isolation.[8]

Women and Children as Collateral Victims

The traditional Kanun rules say that only adult men can be targeted in a blood feud. Women and children are supposed to be safe. However, these traditional rules have broken down. In modern Albania, there are many cases where women and children have been threatened or attacked. Some families have reported direct threats against women and girls. In some cases, women have been killed.[9]

Even when women are not directly targeted, they suffer deeply. They are trapped inside the house with their families. They cannot work or socialise. They become carers for the entire family. Their own needs and rights are ignored. Young women in self-isolated families cannot marry, because no other family wants to be connected to a blood feud. This means they have no future outside the house.

Children born into self-isolation know nothing else. They grow up in a small space, with constant fear and no contact with the outside world. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called this a serious violation of children's rights, including the right to education, health, and development. Despite this, the Albanian government has not created any special programme to help these children.[10]

Impact of Self-Isolation on Family Members

Government Response: Promises Without Action

The Albanian government has acknowledged that blood feuds are a problem. In 2005, it created a Coordination Council for the Fight Against Blood Feuds. However, this body has done very little in practice. It does not have its own budget. It does not run any programmes. It has not produced any reports since its creation. In reality, it exists only on paper.[11]

Local reconciliation committees, run by civil society groups and community leaders, have had some success. They bring the two families together and try to negotiate peace. However, these committees work with almost no money. They depend on volunteers. Their success rate is difficult to measure. Some reconciliations work, but others break down after a short time. The government does not support these committees in any meaningful way.

The police response is also very poor. Blood feud families often report that the police cannot or will not protect them. In rural areas, police are few and far between. Even when families report threats, the police rarely take action. There is no witness protection programme for blood feud victims. There are no government shelters. Families are left completely alone to deal with the threat.[12]

Social services in Albania are weak in general. For blood feud families, they are almost non-existent. There is no special financial support. There are no psychological counselling services. There are no programmes to help children in self-isolation get an education. The state has essentially abandoned these families.

Blood feuds continue to affect hundreds of families in Albania, particularly in the north. The authorities have taken insufficient measures to address this phenomenon. Children are among the most vulnerable victims, deprived of education, healthcare, and a normal childhood.

OSCE Presence in Albania, Report on Blood Feuds, 2013; Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, 2018

Case Patterns in Blood Feud Claims

Blood feud cases follow certain common patterns. First, a killing happens. This is often a murder, but it can also be an accidental killing or even a traffic accident. The victim's family blames the other family. The Kanun rules are invoked. The killer's family goes into self-isolation. Sometimes, the families try to reconcile, but this fails. The situation continues for years.[13]

In many cases, the original killing happened a long time ago. Some feuds go back 20 or 30 years. New generations are born into the feud. They did not do anything wrong, but they are still targets. Young men who grow up in self-isolation sometimes try to escape to other countries. This is often when they make an asylum claim.

Another common pattern involves families who tried to relocate within Albania. They moved from the north to Tirana or another city. For a while, they felt safe. However, the other family eventually found them. The threats started again. This shows that internal relocation is not a reliable option for blood feud families. Albania is a small country, and families can be found easily.[14]

Implications for Asylum Claims

Albania blood feud families have strong grounds for asylum claims in many countries. The key legal arguments are clear. First, the Albanian state cannot protect these families. The police do not help. There are no shelters. Social services are absent. This means the persecution comes from a non-state actor (the other family), and the state is unable or unwilling to provide protection.[15]

Second, the persecution affects the entire family, not just one person. Women and children are also at risk. Therefore, asylum claims can be made by any family member, not only the adult men. This is especially important for women's rights and children's rights under the human rights framework.

Third, internal relocation is not a safe option. Albania is small. Families have been found after moving. The government does not offer any relocation support. Decision-makers should not refuse claims on the basis that the person could move to another part of Albania.

For asylum seekers from Albania, the key evidence includes: police reports (or evidence of failed attempts to get police help), court documents, statements from reconciliation committees, medical evidence of psychological harm, and expert witness reports. An expert witness can explain the Kanun rules, the reality of self-isolation, and why the Albanian state cannot protect the family. Expert evidence is often the difference between a successful and unsuccessful claim.

Conclusion

Blood feuds in Albania are a serious human rights crisis. Thousands of families live in self-imposed imprisonment. Children grow up without education or healthcare. Women lose their freedom and their future. The Albanian government has failed to address this problem in any meaningful way. Police protection is absent. Social services do not exist for these families. Reconciliation efforts depend on volunteers with no resources.

For asylum decision-makers, the evidence is clear. Albania blood feud families face a real risk of serious harm. The state cannot protect them. Internal relocation is not safe. Claims from blood feud families, including women and children, deserve careful consideration. An expert witness can provide essential context about the Kanun, the reality of self-isolation, and the failure of state protection. For more information on country conditions in Albania, see our country reports section.