Siege of Prekaz (1991)

The siege of Prekaz was an encirclement of the Jashari family house on December 30, 1991, by heavily armored Serbian Militia. Their goal was to capture or kill Adem Jashari, who had committed several acts of sabotage against the Yugoslav administrative apparatus in Kosovo.

Siege of Prekaz
Part of the Yugoslav war and Kosovo prewar period
Date 30 December, 1991 Location Prekaz, Serbia, Yugoslavia Result Jashari Family victory[1] Prekaz declared a no-go area by Yugoslav authorities
Belligerents
Jashari Family	SFR Yugoslavia
Commanders and leaders
Adem Jashari Hamëz Jashari	Unknown
Strength
6 militants and a mob of Albanians	Convoy with armored vehicle's and helicopters
Casualties and losses
3 villagers wounded [2]	unknown

Background

In late 1990, the People's Movement of Kosovo (LPK) and Albanian President Ramiz Alia agreed to train volunteers from Kosovo in the hope of starting an armed uprising.^[3][4] The volunteers received strict instructions to avoid detection by Yugoslavia's secret police (UDBA).^[5] They first flew to Zürich, then Trieste, and finally boarded a boat to Durrës. On October 1, 1991, a group of 53 volunteers began 30 days of military training in the village of Surrel, near the Albanian capital. A second, more diverse group, including members from Kosovo and Macedonia such as Adem Jashari, Sahit Jashari, Murad Jashari, Fadil Kodra, and Ilaz Kodra, arrived on November 1.^[6] Plans for a third group were thwarted by Yugoslav authorities. On December 2, Adem Jashari, with 33 armed men, crossed the border back into Kosovo.^[7]

Siege

The day before the initial siege, Adem Jashari received a call from a trusted friend warning him of an approaching MUP convoy with armored vehicle's and helicopters. In response, Adem and his brother Hamëz gathered four friends and relatives and sought refuge in the neighboring village of Kodra.^[8][9] Believing it was safe, Adem and Hamëz returned home in the early hours of December 30, but they were met with gunfire from Serbian policemen. During the ensuing shootout, a mob of both armed and unarmed Albanians converged on the Jashari home, effectively breaking the siege and forcing the MUP unit to retreat and subsequently declare Prekaz a "no-go area".^[10][11][12]

Aftermath

On January 22, 1998, Serbian police besieged the Jashari house for a second time. The fighting lasted for half an hour until the police were repelled by KLA fighters.^[13][14][15] Two of Adem Jashari's nieces, Iliriana and Selvete, were wounded.^[16]