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control of the security forces of the
Republic of Serbia, crowded with Serbian refugees, without electricity and telephone connections. In the spring of 1998, the KLA carried out several military operations around Dečan, which further worsened the security situation. The period from April 19 to 22 was particularly critical when there were heavy clashes between the police and the KLA in the village of
1005:Đakovica was turned into a fortress. There were hours of fighting for the liberation of certain houses and villages and the militants would retreat only under strong pressure. This explains the relatively small number of victims for such an operation, but also so many destroyed and damaged houses. The entire area of southwestern Kosovo was cleared of militants, with the exception of the village of
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22:
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estimates, at least 65,000 Albanians were temporarily displaced. Representatives of the Kosovo
Albanians claimed that tens of thousands of their countrymen had fled. The authorities in Tirana mentioned that 20,000 Albanians from Kosovo fled to Albania, and that 8,500 Albanians fled to Montenegro. The
727:
municipality in the southwestern part of Kosovo, which had been held by the KLA between April and May 1998. The KLA attacked the police and civilians affecting the local population. Due to the complete blockade of this area and the impossibility of the normal functioning of daily life activities, the
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Representatives of the Kosovo
Albanians claimed that dozens of their compatriots died in the fighting, while the police announced that there were no civilian casualties, only militant ones. According to the police, around 40 Albanian militants were killed in this operation. Some parts of the town of
1004:
During the unblocking of Dečan, the combined forces of the army and the police dealt a heavy blow to the KLA, cutting off their supply and withdrawal routes. Members of the KLA offered fierce resistance because they were well entrenched in their positions. Every house on the stretch from Dečan to
774:
At the beginning of the spring of 1998, all
Serbian villages from Peć to Dečan remained almost deserted. The Serb fugitives moved mostly towards Dečan, where it was particularly dramatic. This place was completely surrounded by KLA forces for several months, cut off from the territory under the
825:
On May 26, Julka Đuričković was killed with a firearm in Dečan. Her body was found by her husband Veljko, who then committed suicide. On the following day, attacks with firearms on vehicles on the roads continue around Dečan. On May 29, KLA militants attacked a police unit that tried to break
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police claimed that KLA members drove
Albanian civilians from the villages along the Djakovica-Dečani-Peć road in order to make fortifications out of their houses. The commander of the KLA for the Dukagjin operational zone, which included Dečan.
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The military authorities of the FRY also rejected allegations of tens of thousands of refugees in
Albania because the border guards of the Yugoslav Army completely controlled the border and there were no large refugee columns in those days.
296:
239:
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855:, near Dečan, on May 31, an old woman, Vidosava Simović, was killed in an attack. On May 31, police officer Dušan Urošević was killed in the vicinity of Dečan in a conflict with terrorists.
605:
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The town of Dečan and the surrounding villages were the target of terrorist attacks on civilians and police patrols in 1996 and 1997. The
Jablanica KLA formation under the command of
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On May 25, police officers Rade Popadić and Nikola
Jovanović were kidnapped near the village of Babaloć, and police officer Gojko Gojković was attacked near the village of
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332:
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The fighting for the unblocking of Dečan lasted for 2 days and in them one policeman was killed and five were wounded. The policeman who died was a member of the
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security forces of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia carried out an unblocking operation during which the KLA units were overwhelmed and forced to retreat.
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Along with the fierce fighting that took place in this region, the emigration of
Albanians also began. During the fighting around Dečan, according to
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844:, and Radojica Janković was seriously wounded. In the evening of May 30, two policemen were slightly wounded in the area of Dečan. In the village of
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regions worsened the most at the end of May 1998. It all started on May 24, when the police surrounded and destroyed a KLA unit in the village of
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took up arms. The KLA concentrated significant forces in the southwest of Kosovo, in the border area between Serbia and Albania (in the areas of
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231:
797:, when one militant was killed and several others were wounded. In the following days, the militants carried out several revenge attacks.
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agency reported that the Serbian security forces unblocked and cleared the town of Dečan and the surrounding area from KLA forces.
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occupied a certain number of villages around the road Đakovica - Dečan - Peć, keeping this road under a complete blockade.
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Dečan itself were almost destroyed and deserted after the end of this operation by Serbian forces, the largest since the
723:(KLA) in early June 1998. The plan of the operation was to eliminate the Albanian militants to gain wider space for the
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near Dečan, when the Serbian police destroyed a larger unit. Fighting also took place in the area of the areas of
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On the same day, police officer Dragan Djelanović was killed in an attack on the police station in
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989:Ужасно је. Пуца се са свих страна. Никада нисам могао да замислим борбе тог интензитета
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952:, Željko Šijan (1960), who was killed in a conflict with terrorists in the village of
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811:. On the same day, KLA terrorists ambushed three civilians near the village of
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began on June 1 of 1998 and it was one of the first battles in the heart of
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grew into a large militant organization. The entire Albanian population of
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himself admitted that the militants evacuated the Albanian population.
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29:The examples and perspective in this article
8:
1119:"Početak rata na Kosmetu i deblokada Dečana"
1051:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
897:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
305:65,000 Albanians were temporarily displaced
1172:"Cena pogrešnih procena i još gorih oduka"
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1111:
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1071:Learn how and when to remove this message
917:Learn how and when to remove this message
62:Learn how and when to remove this message
1166:
1164:
1105:
1203:Military operations of the Kosovo War
7:
1049:adding citations to reliable sources
895:adding citations to reliable sources
33:include all significant viewpoints
14:
135:Clearing of most of southwestern
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789:The situation in the Dečan and
736:During the spring of 1998, the
384:Albanian–Yugoslav border ambush
711:was an operation when Serbian
1:
360:Attacks on Likoshan and Çirez
1121:(in Serbian). Archived from
581:Yugoslav Ministry of Defence
541:4th Albanian-Yugoslav border
474:3rd Albanian–Yugoslav border
469:2nd Albanian–Yugoslav border
414:1st Albanian–Yugoslav border
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270:500 soldiers and policemen
1144:"NASILJE ODUVALO DIJALOG"
941:. Already on June 3, the
689:Destruction of heritage (
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153:
89:
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1178:(in Serbian). 2010-08-18
1150:(in Serbian). 1998-06-11
717:Special Operations Unit
591:Varvarin bridge bombing
454:Gornje Obrinje massacre
999:Attack of Donji Prekaz
992:
738:Kosovo Liberation Army
721:Kosovo Liberation Army
434:Lake Radonjić massacre
285:12-40 militants killed
184:Commanders and leaders
165:Kosovo Liberation Army
673:Batajnica mass graves
640:Staro Gracko massacre
489:Ambush near Suva Reka
275:Casualties and losses
232:Yugoslav Armed Forces
1045:improve this section
891:improve this section
713:Special Police Units
404:Ljubenić mass graves
389:Lapušnik prison camp
685:Mališevo mass grave
601:Niš cluster bombing
516:Bela Crkva massacre
444:September Offensive
300:5 policemen wounded
77:Unblocking of Dečan
40:improve the article
681:Ugljare mass grave
677:Rudnica mass grave
586:Lužane bus bombing
526:Suva Reka massacre
479:Panda Bar massacre
293:1 policeman killed
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1080:
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719:were against the
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645:Gnjilane killings
596:Vushtrri massacre
551:Battle of Paštrik
536:Drenica massacres
506:F-117A shoot-down
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419:Klečka killings
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1085:United Nations
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1125:on 2013-09-27
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876:This section
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859:The Operation
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97:1–3 June 1998
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1180:. Retrieved
1175:
1152:. Retrieved
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1138:
1127:. Retrieved
1123:the original
1094:
1082:
1067:
1058:
1043:Please help
1031:
1003:
995:
993:
988:
986:(in Serbian)
984:
947:
937:against the
930:
928:
913:
904:
889:Please help
877:
828:
824:
799:
788:
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500:Allied Force
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230:
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154:Belligerents
123:
82:Part of the
58:
49:
30:
1148:Magazin NIN
971: [
957: [
849: [
834: [
816: [
805: [
780: [
764:mountains.
669:Mass graves
650:2000 unrest
566:Meja ambush
1182:2024-05-16
1154:2024-05-16
1129:2024-05-16
1100:References
732:Background
664:War crimes
464:UNSCR 1207
459:UNSCR 1203
449:UNSCR 1199
379:UNSCR 1160
343:Kosovo War
113:Yugoslavia
84:Kosovo War
1032:does not
1013:Aftermath
878:does not
623:Aftermath
1197:Category
1061:May 2024
907:May 2024
813:Ljubenić
754:Đakovica
742:Metohija
715:and the
691:Albanian
556:Grdelica
484:Podujevo
439:Glodjane
424:Orahovac
262:Strength
131:victory
104:Location
99:(2 days)
52:May 2024
31:may not
1053:removed
1038:sources
968:Istinić
943:Reuters
899:removed
884:sources
831:Čelopek
802:Istinić
777:Babaloć
762:Paštrik
746:Drenica
695:Serbian
657:Aspects
635:Prizren
561:Gjakova
354:Prelude
267:unknown
221:unknown
206:unknown
38:Please
935:Kosovo
846:Loćane
795:Prilep
365:Prekaz
175:
137:Kosovo
120:Result
1176:Vreme
1007:Junik
979:Beleg
975:]
961:]
853:]
842:]
820:]
809:]
784:]
758:Junik
750:Dečan
725:Dečan
429:Junik
143:units
139:from
109:Dečan
1036:any
1034:cite
977:and
929:The
882:any
880:cite
760:and
752:and
744:and
707:The
409:Lođa
127:and
94:Date
1047:by
965:Peć
950:JSO
939:KLA
893:by
822:.
791:Peć
254:JSO
244:MUP
141:KLA
129:JSO
125:MUP
42:or
1199::
1174:.
1163:^
1146:.
1108:^
1001:.
973:sr
959:sr
851:sr
840:sq
838:;
836:sr
818:sr
807:sr
782:sr
693:·
683:,
679:,
675:,
671::
111:,
1185:.
1157:.
1132:.
1074:)
1068:(
1063:)
1059:(
1055:.
1041:.
920:)
914:(
909:)
905:(
901:.
887:.
697:)
334:e
327:t
320:v
65:)
59:(
54:)
50:(
46:.
36:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
