Yugoslav September Offensive
| Yugoslav September offensive | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Kosovo war | |||||||||
 Modern day Prizren, one of the places where September offensive began | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 FR Yugoslavia |
 Kosovo Liberation Army | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Slobodan Milošević Božidar Delić Vlastimir Djordjevic Stojan Konjikovac Milorad Ulemek Nebojsa Pavkovic Frenki Simatović Saša Simeunović † Zeljko Jovičić † |
Agim Ramadani Ramush Haradinaj Agim Çeku Fehmi Lladrovci † Ilaz Kodra[9] Agim Shala † Selajdin Berisha † | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
.svg){kind=small} Serbian police Special Operations Unit Special Anti-Terrorist Unit Russian volunteers Air Force of Serbia and Montenegro[10] |
| ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Many killed | Very heavy[3] | ||||||||
 300 POW[11] | |||||||||
The Yugoslav September offensive was offensive launched in September, 1998 by Yugoslav forces against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during Kosovo war.
Background
[edit]During the Kosovo war KLA launched an offensive against Yugoslav forces[12] aiming to capture towns and expand their territory. During the offensive KLA captured around 40% of Kosovo and Metohija.[13][14] To regain territories lost in the offensive, Yugoslav troops launched an offensive in mid July that lasted until the beginning of October.[15][1] As result Yugoslav troops captured most of Kosovo,[16] with some sources claiming they captured almost the whole of Kosovo.[17] The Yugoslav September offensive was part of that counteroffensive and was officially launched on 1st September[7]
Offensive
[edit]Yugoslav offensive in Prizren
[edit]On the 1st of September Yugoslav forces launched an offensive against KLA the positions in Prizren.[7] The first place that was affected was Lez in where after days of fighting 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.[18] MUP also attacked Lybeçevë and Hoçë e Qytetit and several other villages and KLA positions that were captured later during fighting.[7] On the 2nd September Yugoslav forces attacked Ješkovo but the KLA successfully defended it.[7] 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 Verin[7] and on the 5th of September forced albanian villagers to surrender their weapons.[19] The offensive also weakened the KLA's 125th Brigade. The KLA had 35 killed by the end of the offensive[7][20]
Offensive in Lake Radonjić
[edit]Because of the massacres that happened in the Lake Radonjić, 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.[21]
Situation in mid September and recapture of Likovac
[edit]By mid-September Yugoslav army succeeded in destroying towns and villages KLA was present forcing them to withdraw.[15] However one of the important areas KLA still had presence remained unfinished, that being central Drenica.[15] On 13th September Yugoslav army recaptured Likovac which served as KLA regional headquarters[15]
Central Drenica offensive
[edit]On 22th September Yugoslav forces launched offensive in central Drenica. One of the places Yugoslav army attacked was Glanasela or Gladno Selo which was captured after several hours of fighting.[22] KLA withdrew shorty after Fehmi Lladrovci and his wife were killed[22] 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.[15] Acroding KLA commander (who was also the former Yugoslav army officer) Naim Maloku during interview with New York Times said that Yugoslav army faced resistance from KLA in Likovac-Obrinje area saying that 47 Serbian soldiers and police officers were killed.[15][23] After capturing Likovac the yugoslav forces moved to Obrinje. Acroding to BBC on 24th September Yugoslav army captured at least 6 villages in central Drenica.[24] At the beginning of the offensive yugoslav forces started shelling the Dlilaj compound from direction of Likovac and on 26th September it was shelled with various types of artillery and mortars.[15] As 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.[15] JSO was also reported being present during offensive, they were commanded by Franko Simatović often appearing in other military police units carrying large knives.[15] There were reports by local population seeing them near Obrinje. The JSO had reputation of being ruthless, serbian police officers who were with them for 6 months in Dečani in interview with Human Rights Watch said: "Frenki's man kill everything. Belive me you don't want to see them".[15] On 25th September 5 serbian police officers were killed by detonation placed by KLA.[25] The KLA sometimes attacked serbian police and then retreated toward villages.[26] On 26th September Serbian special force killed 21 civlians as retaliation in Gornje Obrinje. On 27th September, HMW researchers and journalists arrived and documented the massacre that happened in village, garnering attention from Western media[27]
Aftermath
[edit]On 28th, September Serbia's Prime Minister, Mirko Marjanović gave a victory speech saying that "terrorist gangs" (KLA) have been destroyed showing how Serbia is again capable resolving their problems alone.[1] One of the municipalities that was captured during the offensive was Prizren. Yugoslav army and police withdrew from Ostrozub, Klečka, Samodraza and other places due to international pressure and ceasfire but they still remained under Yugoslav control.[28] Ramush Haradinaj who was one of the leading KLA commanders during September offensive admitted how September offensive causes heavy losses for KLA and called Holbrooke agreement "life saving for KLA".[3] Agim Çeku (who was KLA staff during the war) said "The cease-fire was very useful for us".[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "A Week of Terror in Drenica: The Response of the Yugoslav Authorities". www.hrw.org.
- ^ "A Kosovo Chronology". www.pbs.org.
- ^ a b c d Sell, Louis (2003). Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia. Duke University Press. p. 293. ISBN 9780822332237.
- ^ a b Galović, Milan. "Albanska paravojska razbijena u 27 akcija". Politika Online.
- ^ a b Archives, L. A. Times (1998-09-09). "New Serbian Offensive Said to Be Underway in Separatist Province". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
- ^ Milovan Drecun (2004). Drugi kosovski boj. Kosovo: M. Drecun, 2004. ISBN 9788684771096.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Beteja për liri a vdekje në Vrri-Prizren, midis UÇK-së dhe forcave serbe". 1 September 2018.
- ^ Gashi, Arbana (28 September 2023). "Hajrush Kurtaj: 25 vjet nga Beteja e Jezercit, 16 korrik – 28 shtator 1998".
- ^ "Ilaz Ismajl Kodra (3.5.1966 – 30.4.1999)". Radio Kosova e Lirë (in Albanian). Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ Ramet, Sabrina (1999). Balkan Babel. Avalon Publishing. p. 33. ISBN 978081339045.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: length (help) - ^ Human Rights Watch Helsniki.
- ^ "Koktsidis & Dam 2008, p. 170" (PDF).
- ^ Perritt, Henry H. (2010). Kosovo Liberation Army: The Inside Story of an Insurgency. University of Illinois Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780252092138.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "A Week of Terror in Drenica: The Fighting at Gornje Obrinje". www.hrw.org.
- ^ 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
- ^ Logos, Aleksandar A. (2019). Istorija Srba 1, Dopuna 4; Istorija Srba 5 (in Serbian). Beograd. p. 307. ISBN 978-86-85117-46-6. Serbian [During August 1998, the FRY restored power over almost the entire Kosmet]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Ubijeno petnaest pripadnika OVK, ranjena dva policajca". Danas. September 3, 2008.
- ^ Weller, Marc (1999). The Crisis in Kosovo 1989-1999. Documents and Analysis Publ. p. 269. ISBN 9781903033005.
- ^ "Kosovo Conflict Chronology: September 1998 - March 1999, p. 5".
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "Тенкови на Косову и Метохији 98". www.srpskioklop.paluba.info.
- ^ Perlez, Jane (15 November 1998). "Ethnic Albanians Recount Massacre of a Family in Kosovo". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ "BBC News | Europe | Serb offensive continues". news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Fred C. Abrahams (15 May 2015). Modern Albania: From Dictatorship to Democracy in Europe. NYU Press. pp. 264–. ISBN 978-1-4798-9668-4.
- ^ Human Rights Watch (1999). "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: A Week of Terror in Drenica, Humanitarian Law Violations in Kosovo".
- ^ Weller, Marc (1999). The Crisis in Kosovo 1989-1998. Documents and Analysis Publ. p. 284. ISBN 9781903033005.