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partners about this tendency and will ask them to put pressure on Serbia to stop such court farces and the pursuing of citizens of the Kosovo
Republic under baseless charges totally outside international judicial standards," Mustafa said during a government meeting. He added that Wednesday's verdict convicting the eight former KLA fighters, which handed down by a court in the Serbian city of Nis, will not have any legal impact because Serbian courts does not have a jurisdiction over Kosovo citizens. "Kosovo is an independent country. For Serbia, the citizens of Republic of Kosovo are foreign citizens," Mustafa said. The higher court in Nis on Wednesday found the former KLA members guilty of acts of terrorism for ambushing and killing Yugoslav Army troops in Kosare in Kosovo in September 1998. The former KLA men – Shiqer Maloku, Xhafer Gashi, Demush Gacaferi, Deme Maloku, Agron Isufi, Anton Cuni, Rabit Alija and Rrustem Berisha – were convicted in absentia and given prison sentences of 15 years each.
439:'s "Cobra" unit, first prepared for the ambush by laying anti tank mines. Later, a Yugoslav tank came and detonated one of the anti tank mines. The blast killed one soldier and injured four others. A Yugoslav army helicopter was sent out to pick up the surviving soldiers, but it was fired upon by the KLA. A second attack happened shortly after, this time close to the Košare border outpost. The KLA fighters ambushed a Yugoslav army vehicle. They opened fire upon the vehicle and threw hand grenades at it, killing five Yugoslav soldiers and wounding two more. They then collected ammunition and equipment from the vehicle and soldiers and robbed the dead of their personal belongings. The KLA then opened fire to another helicopter which came to evacuate the wounded.
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345:. Prior to the mid-19th century they had formed a majority in the province, but by 1990 represented only about 10 percent of the population. Alarmed by their dwindling numbers, the province's Serbs began to fear they were being "squeezed out" by the Albanians, with whom ethnic tensions had been brewing since the early 1980s. As soon as Kosovo's autonomy was abolished, a minority government run by Serbs and Montenegrins was appointed by Serbian President
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said that a
Serbian court's decision to convict eight former Kosovo Liberation Army fighters of killing Yugoslav Army troops in September 1998 was a farce. Mustafa said that courts in Serbia have no right to judge Kosovo's citizens and even less to try former KLA fighters who were involved in what he
401:
in 1991–92, became a rump federation made up of Serbia and
Montenegro. At first the KLA carried out hit-and-run attacks: 31 in 1996, 55 in 1997, and 66 in January and February 1998 alone. The group quickly gained popularity among young Kosovo Albanians, many of whom favored a more aggressive approach
316:
was an operation launched by militants of the KLA's "cobra" unit, which conducted two ambushes out of
Albanian territory near the border outpost of Koshare on Yugoslav forces. Six Yugoslav Army personnel were killed. The KLA suffered no casualties, and captured Yugoslav ammunition, equipment and
949:
Mustafa said on
Thursday that courts in Serbia have no right to judge Kosovo's citizens and even less to try former KLA fighters who were involved in what he called a liberation war and respected the laws and customs of warfare. "The government of Republic of Kosovo will inform international
870:
This was followed by a second attack shortly afterwards close to the Kosare border post, when the accused set another ambush and opened fire on a
Yugoslav Army vehicle, throwing hand grenades and killing five soldiers and wounding two more, the prosecution
830:
The indictment alleges that the eight accused men – Sicer Maloku, Gashi Xhafer, Demush
Gacaferi, Deme Maloku, Agron Isufi, Anton Cuni, Rabit Alija and Rrustem Berisha – first prepared an ambush for Yugoslav Army border troops by laying anti-tank
426:
in March 1998, killing him, his closest associates and most of his extended family. The attack motivated thousands of young Kosovo
Albanians to join the KLA, fueling the Kosovar uprising that eventually erupted in the spring of 1998.
349:
to oversee the province, enforced by thousands of heavily armed paramilitaries from Serbia-proper. Albanian culture was systematically repressed and hundreds of thousands of
Albanians working in state-owned companies lost their jobs.
467:
of Kosovo. he responded to the conviction by saying this; “We had uniforms. We were soldiers and we fought against soldiers. They killed civilians including elderly people, children and women." Former Prime
Minister of Kosovo
853:
A Yugoslav Army tank detonated the mine, killing one soldier and wounding four others, and then the KLA fighters opened fire on an army helicopter that arrived to take away the casualties, the charges claim.
581:
A Serbian court delivers its verdict this week in the case of eight former Kosovo Liberation Army fighters accused of terrorism for ambushing and killing Yugoslav Army troops in 1998.
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Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said that a Serbian court's decision to convict eight former Kosovo Liberation Army fighters of killing Yugoslav Army troops in September 1998 was a farce.
888:
The KLA fighters – who attacked from Albanian territory – then robbed the soldiers and targeted another helicopter that came to evacuate the wounded, according to the indictment.
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guilty of acts of terrorism and ordered each of them to be jailed for 15 years for their involvement in two attacks on Yugoslav Army troops in Kosare on the same day in 1998.
978:
519:
983:
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905:"We had uniforms. We were soldiers and we fought against soldiers. They killed civilians including elderly people, children and women," Berisha said.
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418:'s depots being looted. Many of these weapons ended up in the hands of the KLA. The group's popularity skyrocketed after the VJ and MUP
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on February 17, 2016, found Sicer Maloku, Gashi Xhafer, Demush Gacaferi, Deme Maloku, Agron Isufi, Anton Cuni, Rabit Alija and
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358:
79:
771:
Dušan Janjić (2012). "Kosovo under the Milošević Regime". In Charles W. Ingrao; Thomas A. Emmert (eds.).
671:
James Summers (2011). "Kosovo: From Yugoslav Province to Disputed Independence". In James Summers (ed.).
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176:"KOBRA" unit from the 3rd Operative Group GO-3 (later renamed to 138th Brigade "Agim Ramadani")
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495:"Дан када је рат заправо почео: Годишњица убиства петорице српских војника на Кошарама"
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None of the former KLA militants have served the sentence they were given.
381:; MUP) in Kosovo. Their goal was to separate the province from the rest of
326:
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called a liberation war and respected the laws and customs of warfare.
411:
678:
460:
448:
342:
774:
Confronting the Yugoslav Controversies: A Scholars' Initiative
901:"Kosovo Ex-Guerrillas Convicted of Yugoslav Army Killings"
329:
abolished self-rule in Serbia's two autonomous provinces,
884:"Kosovo Ex-Guerrillas Await Yugoslav Army Ambush Verdict"
866:"Kosovo Ex-Guerrillas Await Yugoslav Army Ambush Verdict"
845:"Kosovo Ex-Guerrillas Await Yugoslav Army Ambush Verdict"
822:"Kosovo Ex-Guerrillas Await Yugoslav Army Ambush Verdict"
573:"Kosovo Ex-Guerrillas Await Yugoslav Army Ambush Verdict"
534:"Kosovo Ex-Guerrillas Await Yugoslav Army Ambush Verdict"
341:, was of great historical and cultural significance to
337:. Kosovo, a province inhabited predominantly by ethnic
709:
Burn This House: The Making and Unmaking of Yugoslavia
402:
and rejected the non-violent resistance of politician
463:
politician and military officer. He is currently the
447:The higher court in the southern Serbian city of
941:"Kosovo PM: KLA Convictions are a Serbian Farce"
919:"Kosovo PM: KLA Convictions are a Serbian Farce"
406:. It received a significant boost in 1997 when
21:
186:Prishtina Corps Units 549th Motorized Brigade
8:
518:: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
979:1998 in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
706:Jasminka Udovički; James Ridgeway (2000).
629:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
18:
16:1998 military operation of the Kosovo War
781:: Purdue University Press. p. 293.
591:
589:
485:
750:: Yale University Press. p. 137.
716:: Duke University Press. p. 322.
622:
511:
984:Military operations of the Kosovo War
414:led to thousands of weapons from the
7:
650:. New York: I.B.Tauris. p. 97.
385:, which following the separation of
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379:Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova
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994:Battles involving FR Yugoslavia
647:The Albanians: A Modern History
435:The men, who were part of the
1:
1004:Ambushes of the Yugoslav Wars
548:"Operacioni i koduar "Fenix""
375:Ministry of Internal Affairs
422:the compound of KLA leader
378:
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353:In 1996, a ragtag group of
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361:(KLA) began attacking the
317:looted the dead soldiers.
989:Battles involving Albania
251:
199:
165:
97:
68:
34:
26:
644:Miranda Vickers (1999).
51:Albanian-Yugoslav border
779:West Lafayette, Indiana
743:Kosovo: War and Revenge
377:(Serbo-Croatian Latin:
357:calling themselves the
748:New Haven, Connecticut
714:Durham, North Carolina
602:Milosevic: A Biography
373:; VJ) and the Serbian
359:Kosovo Liberation Army
98:Commanders and leaders
80:Kosovo Liberation Army
999:Albania–Serbia border
355:Albanian nationalists
252:Casualties and losses
195:53rd Border Battalion
801:Judah, pp. x, 127–30
685:: BRILL. p. 5.
674:Kosovo: A Precedent?
367:Serbo-Croatian Latin
536:. 16 February 2016.
493:ИН4С (2023-09-30).
465:Minister of Defense
399:Bosnia-Herzegovina
371:Vojska Jugoslavije
347:Slobodan Milošević
159:Dragutin Dimćevski
969:Conflicts in 1998
939:Çollaku, Petrit.
917:Collaku, Petrit.
810:Judah, pp. 138–41
788:978-1-55753-617-4
757:978-0-300-09725-2
723:978-0-8223-2590-1
692:978-90-474-2943-2
657:978-1-86064-541-9
616:978-0-300-10317-5
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42:30 September 1998
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777:(2nd ed.).
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459:is currently a
457:Rrustem Berisha
453:Rrustem Berisha
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410:in neighboring
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314:Operation Fenix
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136:Xhezair Shaqiri
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127:Nasim Haradinaj
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118:Rrustem Berisha
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22:Operation Fenix
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923:balkan insight
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555:. Retrieved
551:
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503:. Retrieved
501:(in Serbian)
498:
488:
475:
446:
434:
424:Adem Jashari
408:civil unrest
352:
324:
313:
312:
69:Belligerents
27:Part of the
683:Netherlands
470:Isa Mustafa
220:20 soldiers
210:30 soldiers
60:KLA victory
963:Categories
738:Judah, Tim
597:Adam LeBor
557:2022-11-29
505:2024-06-15
480:References
383:Yugoslavia
321:Background
29:Kosovo War
625:cite book
443:Aftermath
395:Macedonia
339:Albanians
331:Vojvodina
325:In 1989,
307:destroyed
292:Pinzgauer
281:6 wounded
871:alleges.
740:(2002).
607:New York
599:(2002).
552:Bota Sot
514:cite web
420:attacked
387:Slovenia
327:Belgrade
272:6 killed
200:Strength
47:Location
461:Kosovar
412:Albania
391:Croatia
294:damaged
831:mines.
785:
754:
720:
689:
679:Leiden
654:
613:
431:Events
335:Kosovo
229:1 tank
57:Result
343:Serbs
238:2 APC
783:ISBN
752:ISBN
718:ISBN
687:ISBN
652:ISBN
631:link
611:ISBN
520:link
499:ИН4С
397:and
333:and
262:none
39:Date
449:Niš
437:KLA
305:BOV
965::
947:.
943:.
925:.
921:.
903:.
886:.
868:.
851:.
847:.
828:.
824:.
746:.
712:.
681:,
677:.
627:}}
623:{{
605:.
588:^
579:.
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550:.
516:}}
512:{{
497:.
393:,
389:,
369::
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760:.
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633:)
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560:.
522:)
508:.
365:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
