Battle of Llapushnik

The Battle of Llapushnik (Serbian:Битка код Лапушника, Albanian: Beteja e Grykës së Llapushnikut) took place on 7-10 May and 25-26 july, 1998 in the village of Llapushnik, in the district of Pristina, in Kosovo during the Kosovo war.

Battle of Llapushnik
Part of the Kosovo War and Llapusha-South Drenica Front
Date First Battle: 7-10 May 1998 Second Battle: 25-26 July 1998 Location Lapušnik, Drenica, Kosovo, Yugoslavia Result First battle: KLA victory KLA captures Lapušnik Lapušnik prison camp was built Second battle: Yugoslav victory Yugoslav forces take the Llapushnik prison camp KLA withdrawal Territorial changes KLA captures Llapushnik and the surrounding area on May 9,Yugoslav forces capture Lapušnik on 27th July[1][2]
Belligerents
KLA	FR Yugoslavia
Commanders and leaders
Ismet Jashari Fatmir Limaj Isak Musliu Ymer Alushani † Kadri Veseli Fehmi Lladrovci	Goran Radosavljević Sreten Lukić
Units involved
121 Brigade	Yugoslav Army Serbian police
Strength
100 soldiers	200 Soldiers
Casualties and losses
47 killed[3]	Unknown Tam-110 destroyed
/ 23 civilians executed by the Kosovo Liberation Army in the camp

On 9 May 1998,^[4] Ismet Jashari, who still had not fully recovered from the injuries he suffered during an previous ambush, led his forces into Llapushnik, where he defeated the Yugoslav Army and police and captured the town.^[5][6] Alongside with him were Kadri Veseli, Fatmir Limaj,^[7] Isak Musliu and Ymer Alushani.^[8]

The Pristina-Peja road was made impassable for the Serbian forces. The Llapushnik gorge was kept blocked for months, enabling the KLA fighters to move freely in a large part of the territory of Kosovo and this enabled them to organise and supply themselves with weapons.^{[9][10][11][12]}

First battle

The first battle ended in the Kosovo Liberation Army being victorious against Yugoslav forces as they capture Lapušnik and build prison camp^[13]

Second battle

On 25-26 July 1998, Serbian military and police forces launched a summer offensive against most of the KLA's major checkpoints and bases, including an attack against the Llapushnik gorge and surrounding villages.^[14] Yugoslav forces seized back control of Llapushnik on July 27.^[15]

Aftermath

Kadri Veseli, a Kosovo Politician and former founder and leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, recalled it as one of the most fierce battles, saying that the dimensions of frontal fighting in Llapushnik resonated throughout Europe and increased the population's confidence in the strength of the Kosovo Liberation Army with a massive mobilisation.^[16]

From mid-June to the end of July 1998, KLA forces established a prison camp in Llapushnik where both Serb and Albanian civilian detainees were subjected to mistreatment, torture and murder.^[17][18] When Yugoslav forces retook Llapushnik and the surrounding areas, the KLA abandoned the camp and marched the prisoners towards the mountains, dividing them into groups. A group of nine was released while another group numbering some 12 people were shot, ten of whom were killed.^[17]