Yugoslav September offensive
| Yugoslav September offensive | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Kosovo war and Yugoslav counter-offensive in Kosovo (1998) | |||||||||
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 Đorđević Stojan Konjikovac Milorad Ulemek Nebojša Pavković Frenki Simatović |
Agim Ramadani Ramush Haradinaj Agim Çeku Fehmi Lladrovci † Agim Shala † Selajdin Berisha † | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
Russian volunteers |
| ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Heavy[2] | ||||||||
|
300 POW's[6] Thousands displaced | |||||||||
The Yugoslav September offensive was launched in September 1998 by the Yugoslav forces against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the Kosovo War.
Background
During the Kosovo War, the KLA launched an offensive against Yugoslav forces[7] aiming to capture towns and expand their territory. During the offensive KLA captured around 40% of Kosovo and Metohija.[8][9] To regain territories lost in the offensive, Yugoslav troops launched an offensive in mid July that lasted until the beginning of October.[10][4] As a result, Yugoslav troops captured most of Kosovo,[11] with some sources claiming they captured almost the whole of Kosovo.[12] The September offensive was part of that counteroffensive and was launched on 1st September.[13]
Offensive
On the 1st of September Yugoslav forces launched an offensive against KLA positions in Prizren.[13] One of the first places that was affected was the village of Lez where after a fight between Yugoslav forces and KLA the KLA was defeated and Yugoslav forces captured the village. The battle led to the deaths of 15 KLA soldiers, while Yugoslav forces suffered 2 wounded.[14] The offensive led to capture of KLA stronghold[3] and on the 5th of September yugoslav forces forced albanian villagers to surrender their weapons.[15] The offensive also weakened the KLA's 125th Brigade. The KLA had 35 killed by the end of the offensive.[16] On 9 September, Yugoslav forces launched an offensive and captured Prilep, Reznić, Dasinovac, Gložana and Lake Radonjić.[17] British officer John Crossland who was present during the offensive said he personally witnessed Yugoslav soldiers looting Albanian houses.[18] By mid-September the Yugoslav army succeeded in destroying towns and villages KLA was present forcing them to withdraw.[10] However one of the important areas KLA still had presence remained unfinished, that being central Drenica.[10] On the 13th September, the Yugoslav army recaptured Likovac which served as KLA regional headquarters.[10] 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.[10] According to KLA commander (who was also 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.[10][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.[10] 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.[10] JSO was also reported being present during the offensive, they were commanded by Franko Simatović often appearing in other military police units carrying large knives.[10] There were reports by the local population seeing them near Obrinje. The JSO had a reputation of being ruthless. Serbian police officers who was with them for 6 months in Dečan, in interview with Human Rights Watch, they said: "Frenki's man kill everything. Believe me you don't want to see them".[10] 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] This triggered serbian forces to commit massacre in Gorne Obrinje as retaliation on 26th September killing 21 civilians. 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 to resolve their problems alone.[4] Yugoslav army and police withdrew from 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".[2] Agim Çeku (who was a KLA staff during the war) has said "The ceasefire was very useful for us".[2]
See also
References
- ^ "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 c "A Week of Terror in Drenica: The Response of the Yugoslav Authorities". www.hrw.org.
- ^ Ramet, Sabrina (1999). Balkan Babel. Avalon Publishing. p. 33. ISBN 9780813335810.
- ^ 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. 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]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b "Beteja për liri a vdekje në Vrri-Prizren, midis UÇK-së dhe forcave serbe". 1 September 2018.
- ^ "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".
- ^ Archives, L. A. Times (1998-09-09). "New Serbian Offensive Said to Be Underway in Separatist Province". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
- ^ "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.