Battle of Glođane

Battle of Glođane
Part of the Kosovo War
DateFirst Phase: 24 March 1998
Second Phase: 11–12 August 1998
Location
Glođane, near Gjakova
Result

First Phase: KLA victory
Second Phase: Yugoslav victory

Returned presence of the KLA forces
Belligerents
 FR Yugoslavia Coat of arms of the Kosovo Liberation Army.svg Kosovo Liberation Army
Commanders and leaders
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Sreten Lukić Coat of arms of the Kosovo Liberation Army.svg Ramush Haradinaj (WIA)
Coat of arms of the Kosovo Liberation Army.svg Bekim Berisha
Strength
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 500 soldiers and policemen Coat of arms of the Kosovo Liberation Army.svg 250 insurgents
Casualties and losses
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 5 policemen killed
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 2 soldiers killed
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 10 policemen wounded
Coat of arms of the Kosovo Liberation Army.svg 7 killed
Coat of arms of the Kosovo Liberation Army.svg 49 wounded

The Battle of Glođane (Serbian: Битка за Глођане / Bitka za Glođane, Albanian: Beteja e Gllogjanit) was fought during the Kosovo War in the village of Glođane first on March 24, 1998 and again later on August 11, 1998. It invovled the Kosovo Albanian militant group known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the Yugoslav military and Serbian police forces. The clashes represented a series of military offensives launched by the Yugoslav army and Serbian police to address a growing KLA presence within Kosovo Albanian villages.

Background

In Kosovo, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) forces gained strength and tended to control villages away from the main roads while Yugoslav military forces were positioned on the hills around Lake Radonjić. Throughout the summer of 1998, Yugoslav forces shelled Albanian villages surrounding Lake Radonjić on a daily basis.

Clashes on 24 March 1998

After the Attack on Prekaz and the killings KLA leaders Adem Jashari and his brother Hamëz Jashari, along with nearly 60 other family members, Yugoslav forces planned a similar Attack on the village of Glođane, which was home to the Haradinaj Clan. On March 24, 1998, hundreds of Yugolsav forces surrounded and besieged Glođane. The Attack began several hours later, while police forces had been monitoring the movements of the Haradinaj Clan. The Yugoslav forces first attacked the House of the Haradinaj Clan and managed to advance to the courtyard, but had to retreat due to military resistance. KLA forces began to take up positions in the village and counter-attacked the Yugoslav forces which resulted in a Yugoslav withdrawal from the village.

During the Battle 2 KLA Fighters and 1 Serbian Officer were killed, while 3 Serbian Officers and Ramush Haradinaj were wounded.

Clashes on 11–12 August 1998

The Yugoslav forces first broke through the KLA lines and entered Glođane around 10–11 August 1998 as reported by BBC Correspondent Jeremey Cooke who was on the scene. He reported that the Serbs "knew they had the upper hand" and had "shelled and machine-gunned" the village of Glođane into submission. Cooke reported seeing houses shelled and livestock slaughtered to prevent rebels from reentering the village; the Serbian paramilitary police were involved in the operation.

The next military offensive involving Glođane occurred in the beginning of September. KLA forces had regrouped and in September, the Yugoslav military moved through the villages around the lake in order to attack and expel the KLA: Colonel John Crosland an English military officer attached to the VJ, witnessed this first hand commented on the destruction caused by those forces. He noted that he personally witnessed looting and burning of houses by Yugoslav forces and that the village of Prilep was razed to 18 inches about the ground. He stated that VJ forces, Serbian police forces and paramilitary police forces including (MUP, PJP, SAJ) and JSO (Frenki's boys) were involved in the offensive.

Shortly after capturing Glođane, VJ forces withdrew from the village, which resulted in a returned presence of KLA forces.

During the operation, KLA member Idriz Gashi murdered a civilian suspected of collaborating with Yugoslav police. Her body was dropped into the Radonjić Lake where, along with other bodies, was found in September 1998. Gashi was found guilty and was sentenced to 14 years in prison by the Kosovo Supreme Court in 2010.

See also


This page was last updated at 2022-08-06 07:28 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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