Siege of Prekaz (1991)

Siege of Prekaz
Part of the Prewar period
Date 30 December, 1991 Location Prekaz, Yugoslavia Result Albanian victory [1] Prekaz declared a no-go area by Serb authorities
Belligerents
Jashari Family	Yugoslavia
Commanders and leaders
Adem Jashari Hamëz Jashari	Unknown
Strength
6 militants and a mob of Albanians	Convoy with armored vehicle's and helicopters
Casualties and losses
None	4 killed

The siege of Prekaz was an encirclement of the Jashari family house on December 30, 1991, by heavily armored Serbian police (MUP). Their goal was to capture or kill Adem Jashari, who had committed several acts of sabotage against the Serbian administrative apparatus in Kosovo.

Background

In late 1990, the People's Movement of Kosovo (LPK) and Albanian President Ramiz Alia agreed to train volunteers from Kosovo in the hope of starting an armed uprising. ^{[2] [3]} The volunteers received strict instructions to avoid detection by Yugoslavia's secret police (UDBA). ^[4] They first flew to Zürich, then Trieste, and finally boarded a boat to Durrës. On October 1, 1991, a group of 53 volunteers began 30 days of military training in the village of Surrel, near the Albanian capital. A second, more diverse group, including members from Kosovo and Macedonia such as Adem Jashari, Sahit Jashari, Murad Jashari, Fadil Kodra, and Ilaz Kodra, arrived on November 1. ^[5] Plans for a third group were thwarted by Serb authorities. On December 2, Adem Jashari, with 33 armed men, crossed the border back into Kosovo. ^[6]

Siege

The day before the initial siege, Adem Jashari received a call from a trusted friend warning him of an approaching MUP convoy with armored vehicle's and helicopters. In response, Adem and his brother Hamëz gathered four friends and relatives and sought refuge in the neighboring village of Kodra. ^{[7] [8]} Believing it was safe, Adem and Hamëz returned home in the early hours of December 30, but they were met with gunfire from Serbian policemen. During the ensuing shootout, a mob of both armed and unarmed Albanians converged on the Jashari home, effectively breaking the siege and forcing the MUP unit to retreat and subsequently declare Prekaz a "no-go area". ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Aftermath

On January 22, 1998, Serbian police besieged the Jashari house for a second time. The fighting lasted for half an hour until the police were repelled by KLA fighters. ^{[12] [13] [14]} Two of Adem Jashari's nieces, Iliriana and Selvete, were wounded. ^[15]

References

1. Enigma e një vrasje të trefishtë (in Albanian). p. 30. Këtu do të bënte përjashtim figura mitike e Adem Jasharit, i cili, në rrethimin e parë që i ishte bërë shtëpisë së tij, më 30 dhjetor 1991, do sillte edhe humbjen e parë të forcave ushtarake serbe.
2. Milo, Paskal (19 March 2018). "Shqipëria dhe UÇK, prapaskena të historisë. Qëndrimi i Ramiz Alisë dhe mandej i Berishës ndaj luftëtarëve kosovarë (dhe një takim i fshehtë)". TemA.
3. Kurtagic, T. (2019). War and Peace in the Balkans: The Role of the International Community. Routledge.
4. Mujkić, A. (2015). The History of the Yugoslav Wars. Cambridge University Press.
5. Corkalo, B. (2003). The Kosovo Liberation Army: The Inside Story of an Insurgency. Palgrave Macmillan.
6. Corkalo, B. (2003). The Kosovo Liberation Army: The Inside Story of an Insurgency. Palgrave Macmillan.
7. Children of the Eagle (2024-06-26). The Immortal Saga of Adem Jashari - Part 1 . Retrieved 2024-08-03– via YouTube.
8. "Biografia e heroit dhe komandantit legjendar Adem Jashari!". Prizren Post (in Albanian). 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
9. Bartrop, Paul R. (2016-01-18). Bosnian Genocide: The Essential Reference Guide. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN   978-1-4408-3869-9.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. Clark, Howard (2000). Civil Resistance in Kosovo. Pluto Press. ISBN   978-0-7453-1569-0.
13. Abrahams, Fred; Andersen, Elizabeth (1998). Humanitarian Law Violations in Kosovo. Human Rights Watch. ISBN   978-1-56432-194-7.
14. Boyes, Roger; Jagger, Suzy (2018-02-15). New State, Modern Statesman: Hashim Thaçi – A Biography. Biteback Publishing. ISBN   978-1-78590-330-4.
15. Xharra, Jeta. "Witness to Violence: Photojournalist Recalls Decades of Documenting Kosovo's Turbulent Times". Balkaninsight .