Ambush near Suva Reka

The Ambush near Suva Reka (Serbian: Zaseda kod Suve Reke) was an incident that occurred during the Kosovo War when members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) ambushed a MUP convoy,^[2] killing three Serbian policemen near the village of Duhël, close to Suva Reka.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} The three Serbian policemen were blown up by a rocket-propelled grenade that exploded on impact with their squad car.^[3][7]

Ambush near Suva Reka
Part of the Kosovo War
Date 8 January 1999 Location Suva Reka, FR Yugoslavia Result KLA victory Start of the Suva Reka massacre.
Belligerents
Kosovo Liberation Army	Serbian police Yugoslav army
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Uroš Nikolić[1]
Units involved
125th Brigade	549th motorized brigade of Prizren[1]
Casualties and losses
3 wounded	3 killed 4 wounded
2 civilians seriously wounded

Background

The result of the ambush was due to Yugoslav troops shelling the village of Sllapuzhan.^[7]

Incident

On 8 January 1999, the KLA's 125th brigade which had been operating in the nearby areas of Prizren and Orahovac, led an ambush on a convoy of Yugoslav troops near the town of Suva Reka. In the incident, the KLA fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a convoy of Yugoslav troops and vehicles. 4 policemen were wounded and another 3 were killed. 2 civilians were also seriously wounded after a fierce firefight. The KLA also suffered 3 injuries.^[7][3][6]

Aftermath

The KLA followed up the ambush with another attack on a Serbian police patrol near the village of Slivovë, killing one police officer. The village of Reçak served as the staging area for these ambushes, resulting in a significant buildup of Yugoslav Army forces and subsequent massacre on the village.^[6]