Yugoslav September offensive

Yugoslav September offensive
Part of Kosovo war
Modern day Prizren, one of the places where September offensive began
Date September 1998 Location Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia Result Yugoslav victory [1] United Nations Security Council Resolution 1199 [2] Ceasefire KLA is almost completely destroyed [3] [4] [1] Territorial changes Yugoslav forces captured Prilep, Lake Radonjić, Reznić, several villages in Drenica, most of the KLA held areas in Prizren and other regions [5] [4]
Belligerents
FR Yugoslavia	Kosovo Liberation Army
Commanders and leaders
Slobodan Milošević Božidar Delić Vlastimir Djordjevic Stojan Konjikovac Milorad Ulemek Nebojsa Pavkovic Frenki Simatović	Agim Ramadani Ramush Haradinaj Agim Çeku Fehmi Lladrovci   † Agim Shala   † Selajdin Berisha  †
Units involved
Yugoslav Army 549th Prizren Motorized Brigade Serbian police Special Operations Unit SAJ Special Forces Russian volunteers Air Force of Serbia and Montenegro [6]	Kosovo Liberation Army 125th brigade 114th brigade
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Heavy [3]
300 POW's [7]

The Yugoslav September offensive was offensive launched in September 1998 by Yugoslav forces against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during Kosovo war.

Background

Main article: KLA Summer offensive (1998)

During the Kosovo war KLA launched an offensive against Yugoslav forces ^[8] aiming to capture towns and expand their territory. During the offensive KLA captured around 40% of Kosovo and Metohija. ^{[9] [10]} To regain territories lost in the offensive, Yugoslav troops launched an offensive in mid July that lasted until the beginning of October. ^{[11] [1]} As a result, Yugoslav troops captured most of Kosovo, ^[12] with some sources claiming they captured almost the whole of Kosovo. ^[13] The September offensive was part of that counteroffensive and was launched on 1st September. ^[14]

Offensive

Yugoslav offensive in Prizren

On the 1st of September Yugoslav forces launched an offensive against KLA the positions in Prizren. ^[14] One of the places that was affected was Lez where after a fight between yugoslav forces and KLA the KLA was defeated and yugoslav forces captured the village. This battle led to the deaths of 15 KLA soldiers, while Yugoslav forces suffered 2 wounded. ^[15] MUP also attacked Lybeçevë and Hoçë e Qytetit and several other villages and KLA positions that were captured later during fighting. ^[14] On the 2nd September Yugoslav forces attacked Ješkovo but failed to capture it. ^[14] In this battle Agim Shala, his father and Besim Shala were killed. Yugoslav troops still continued to shell Kushtrim and tried to capture Tuzus but failed, nevertheless they still managed to successfully capture many villages including Vërrin ^[14] and on the 5th of September forced albanian villagers to surrender their weapons. ^[16] The offensive also weakened the KLA's 125th Brigade. The KLA had 35 killed by the end of the offensive. ^{[14] [17]}

Offensive in Lake Radonjić

On 9 September, Yugoslav forces launched an offensive and captured Prilep, Reznić, Dasinovac, Gložana and Lake Radonjić. ^[5] British officer John Crossland who was present during the offensive said he personally witnessed Yugoslav soldiers looting Albanian houses. ^[18]

Situation in mid September and recapture of Likovac

By mid-September the Yugoslav army succeeded in destroying towns and villages KLA was present forcing them to withdraw. ^[11] However one of the important areas KLA still had presence remained unfinished, that being central Drenica. ^[11] On the 13th September, the Yugoslav army recaptured Likovac which served as KLA regional headquarters. ^[11]

Central Drenica offensive

Main article: Central Drenica offensive

On 22 September, the Yugoslav forces launched an offensive in Central Drenica. One of the places the Yugoslav army attacked was Glanasela or Gladno Selo which was captured after several hours of fighting. ^[19] KLA withdrew shortly after Fehmi Lladrovci and his wife were killed. ^[19] Serbian police and army attacked from the direction of Klina, southwest of Glogovac, as well from the Cicavica mountains and effectively surrounded KLA forces in Obrinje region. ^[11] According to KLA commander (who was also the former Yugoslav army officer) Naim Maloku during an interview with New York Times, said that the Yugoslav army faced resistance from the KLA in Likovac-Obrinje area, saying that 47 Serbian soldiers and police officers were killed. ^{[11] [20]} According to the BBC , on September 24th the Yugoslav army captured at least 6 villages in central Drenica. ^[21] At the beginning of the offensive, Yugoslav forces started shelling the Dlilaj compound from the direction of Likovac and on 26th September, it was shelled with various types of artillery and mortars. ^[11] As a result, most of inhabitants fled to escape the shelling. For the next several days, Obrinje was under effective Yugoslav control and many abuses were carried out against Albanian population. ^[11] JSO was also reported being present during offensive, they were commanded by Franko Simatović often appearing in other military police units carrying large knives. ^[11] There were reports by the local population seeing them near Obrinje. The JSO had a reputation of being ruthless. Serbian police officers who were with them for 6 months in Dečan, in an interview with Human Rights Watch, they said: "Frenki's man kill everything. Believe me you don't want to see them". ^[11] On 25th September, 5 Serbian police officers were killed by the detonation that was placed by the KLA. ^[22] The KLA sometimes attacked the Serbian police and then retreated towards villages. ^[23] On 26th September, Serbian special forces killed 21 civilians as retaliation in Gornje Obrinje. On 27th September, HMW researchers and journalists arrived and documented the massacre that happened in the village, garnering attention from Western media. ^[24]

Aftermath

On 28th September, the Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marjanović gave a victory speech saying that the "terrorist gangs" (KLA) have been destroyed, showing how Serbia was once again capable resolving their problems alone. ^[1] Yugoslav army and police withdrew to Ostrozub, Klečka, Samodraza and other places due to international pressure and ceasefire. ^[25] Ramush Haradinaj who was one of the leading KLA commanders during the September offensive admitted how the September offensive caused heavy losses for KLA and called the Holbrooke Agreement "life saving for the KLA". ^[3] Agim Çeku (who was a KLA staff during the war) said that "The ceasefire was very useful for us". ^[3]

See also

• Operation Eagle Eye (1999)
• Gornje Obrinje massacre

References

1. "A Week of Terror in Drenica: The Response of the Yugoslav Authorities". www.hrw.org.
2. "A Kosovo Chronology". www.pbs.org.
3. Sell, Louis (2003). Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia. Duke University Press. p. 293. ISBN   9780822332237.
4. Galović, Milan. "Albanska paravojska razbijena u 27 akcija". Politika Online.
5. Archives, L. A. Times (1998-09-09). "New Serbian Offensive Said to Be Underway in Separatist Province". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
6. Ramet, Sabrina (1999). Balkan Babel . Avalon Publishing. p. 33. ISBN   9780813335810.
7. Human Rights Watch Helsniki.
8. "Koktsidis & Dam 2008, p. 170" (PDF).
9. Perritt, Henry H. (2010). Kosovo Liberation Army: The Inside Story of an Insurgency. University of Illinois Press. p. 70. ISBN   9780252092138.
10. Krieger, Heike (2001-07-12). The Kosovo Conflict and International Law: An Analytical Documentation 1974-1999. Cambridge University Press. p. 109. ISBN   978-0-521-80071-6.
11. "A Week of Terror in Drenica: The Fighting at Gornje Obrinje". www.hrw.org.
12. International Crisis Group (ICG) (2 September 1998). "Kosovo's Long Hot Summer: Briefing on Military, Humanitarian and Political Developments in Kosovo". refworld.org. Retrieved 14 May 2025. While the UCK claimed to hold some 40 percent of Kosovo in mid-July 1998 — a claim which was impossible to verify since observers were denied access to many areas — the Serbian security forces' summer offensive has successfully rolled back the insurrection's early gains
13. Logos, Aleksandar A. (2019). Istorija Srba 1, Dopuna 4; Istorija Srba 5 (in Serbian). Beograd. p. 307. ISBN   978-86-85117-46-6. Archived from the original on 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2025-09-28. Serbian[During August 1998, the FRY restored power over almost the entire Kosmet]
14. "Beteja për liri a vdekje në Vrri-Prizren, midis UÇK-së dhe forcave serbe". 1 September 2018.
15. "Ubijeno petnaest pripadnika OVK, ranjena dva policajca". Danas. September 3, 2008.
16. Weller, Marc (1999). The Crisis in Kosovo 1989-1999. Documents and Analysis Publ. p. 269. ISBN   9781903033005.
17. "Kosovo Conflict Chronology: September 1998 - March 1999, p. 5".
18. "IT-04-84 Haradinaj et al., Date: 2007 05 23, Hearing Type: IT". 2013-12-28. Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
19. "Тенкови на Косову и Метохији 98". www.srpskioklop.paluba.info.
20. Perlez, Jane (15 November 1998). "Ethnic Albanians Recount Massacre of a Family in Kosovo" . The New York Times . Retrieved 15 May 2025.
21. "BBC News | Europe | Serb offensive continues". news.bbc.co.uk.
22. International Campaign to Ban Land Mines (1999). Landmine Monitor Report 1999: Toward a Mine-free World. Human Rights Watch. pp. 831–. ISBN   978-1-56432-231-9.
23. Fred C. Abrahams (15 May 2015). Modern Albania: From Dictatorship to Democracy in Europe. NYU Press. pp. 264–. ISBN   978-1-4798-9668-4.
24. Human Rights Watch (1999). "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: A Week of Terror in Drenica, Humanitarian Law Violations in Kosovo".
25. Weller, Marc (1999). The Crisis in Kosovo 1989-1998. Documents and Analysis Publ. p. 284. ISBN   9781903033005.