First Attack on Prekaz

First Attack on Prekaz
Part of the Insurgency in Kosovo (1995–1998)
Date First attempt: 22 January 1998 Second attempt: 23 January 1998 Location Prekaz, FR Yugoslavia (present-day Kosovo) Result Both attempts: KLA victory
Belligerents
FR Yugoslavia	Kosovo Liberation Army
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Shaban Jashari Hamëz Jashari Ilaz Kodra
Units involved
Yugoslav Army Serbian police	Kosovo Liberation Army
Strength
Unknown	First attempt: Several militants Second attempt: Several militants and thousands of Adem Jashari's supporters
Casualties and losses
Unknown	None
Two Jashari children wounded by Serbian police

Not to be confused with Siege of Prekaz (1991).

The First Attack on Prekaz occurred on 22 and 23 January 1998 during the Insurgency in Kosovo when the Yugoslav Army and Serbian police attacked the Jashari compound in Donji Prekaz, Kosovo. The goal of the attack was to arrest one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Adem Jashari after he was charged with terrorism in absentia along with several other individuals in a trial that was criticized for not conforming to international standards. ^[1]

Adem Jashari was not present during the attack and the police retreated after being repelled by men inside the compound on 22 January. The police made a second attempt a day later but were repelled by thousands of Adem Jashari's supporters that descended on the village.

The attack was followed by a larger attack initiated months later on 5 March 1998, which resulted in the deaths of Adem Jashari, his brother Hamëz, and nearly sixty other people, many of them women, children, and elderly people.

Background

See also: Insurgency in Kosovo (1995–1998) and Siege of Prekaz (1991)

Adem and Hamëz Jashari were members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a militant group of Kosovo Albanians that sought the independence of Kosovo from Yugoslavia. Adem Jashari was responsible for organizing the first armed political formation in Skënderaj, in 1991. ^[2]

On 30 December 1991, the large convoy of Yugoslav forces with armored vehicles and helicopters conducted a siege of the Jashari compound. After four Yugoslav authorities were killed and a mob of armed and unarmed Albanians descended into the village, Yugoslav forces withdrew from the village and deemed it as a no-go area. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Attack

In an attempt to arrest KLA commander Adem Jashari for killing a Serbian policeman, Serbian forces assaulted the Jashari compound in Donji Prekaz on 22 January 1998 at 5:20 am. ^{[6] [1]} However, Adem was not there at the time, but several KLA fighters from the Jashari family were and repelled the Yugoslav forces away from the village. ^[1]

The next day, on January 23, the police and military made another attempt to assault the village. During this second attempt, a mob of thousands of Albanians who supported Adem Jashari entered the village in defense of the compound. Afterwards, the Yugoslav forces withdrew from Donji Prekaz. ^[7]

During the attack, the Jasharis were aided by friends and neighbors that came into Donji Prekaz from the woods. ^[1] Additionally, the KLA and the Jashari family suffered no casualties from the assault, as many were hiding in the woods. ^[8] However, two of Adem Jashari's nieces were injured by the Serbian police during the assault on the compound. ^{[9] [10]}

After the attack, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs claimed that the attack was a shootout between local gangs. ^[1]

Aftermath

Main article: Attack on Prekaz

After the Yugoslav failed to capture Adem Jashari for a second time, they conducted a far larger attack on 5 to 7 March which killed 59 people including 28 women and young children and at least three people by summary execution. The attack was heavily criticized by human rights organizations as excessive force. According to Amnesty International, the attack was meant to kill all suspects and their families rather than arresting or apprehending armed Albanians. ^[11]

References

1. "HUMANITARIAN LAW VIOLATIONS IN KOSOVO" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. 10 (9): 18.
2. "ICTY/ LIMAJ, Fatmir/ Judgement, ICTY/ BALA, Haradin/ Judgement, ICTY/ MUSLIU, Isak/ Judgement". sim.law.uu.nl. 30 November 2011. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
3. Bartrop, Paul R. (2016-01-18). Bosnian Genocide: The Essential Reference Guide. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN   978-1-4408-3869-9.
4. Bartrop, Paul R.; Jacobs, Steven Leonard (2014-12-17). Modern Genocide: The Definitive Resource and Document Collection [4 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN   979-8-216-11854-1.
5. Mijajlovic, Mihajlo S.; Anicic, Djordje S. (2022-01-28). Shooting Down the Stealth Fighter: Eyewitness Accounts from Those Who Were There. Air World. ISBN   978-1-5267-8043-0.
6. Elsie, Robert (2011). Historical Dictionary of Kosovo. Scarecrow Press. p. 142. ISBN   9780810874831.
7. Bosnian Genocide: The Essential Reference Guide. ABC-CLIO. 2016. p. 105. ISBN   9781440838699.
8. Krasniqi, Vjollca. "Between History and Memory: The Jashari Family Memorial in Prekaz (Kosovo)" (PDF). Cultures of History Forum.
9. Xharra, Jeta. "Witness to Violence: Photojournalist Recalls Decades of Documenting Kosovo's Turbulent Times". Balkan Insight.
10. Intercultural Education: Kosovo Stories of Struggle and Resilience. Vernon Art and Science Incorporated. 2020. p. 47. ISBN   9781648890772.
11. Krieger, Heike (2001). The Kosovo Conflict and International Law: An Analytical Documentation 1974–1999. Cambridge University Press. p. 96. ISBN   0-521-80071-4.