Insurgency in Karadak–Gollak (1941–1951)
| Insurgency in Karadak-Gollak | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II in Yugoslavia and the post-war era | |||||||||
In 1941, Kosovo is occupied by the Bulgarian forces, with the Karadak region under Bulgarian control, and the area of Gollak occupied by the German military administration. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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1941–1944 Chetniks (surrendered to Partisans in 1943) |
1941–1944 | ||||||||
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1944–1945 Albania Balli Kombëtar Kachaks Germany |
1944–1945 Bulgaria Yugoslav Partisans | ||||||||
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1946–1951 Ballist dissidents Kachak dissidents |
1945–1951 | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Mulla Idriz Gjilani (KIA) Sulë Hotla (executed) Mulla Dulla Jusuf Baftjari (executed) Hasan Ali Remniku (KIA) Mustafa Kokaj (KIA) Limon Staneci Mulla Sadik Haliti (executed) Ymer Myqybaba (KIA) Xheladin Kurbaliu (KIA) Hazir Haziri (KIA) Sylë Zarbica (KIA) Rrustem Behluli (KIA) Ali Sylë Staneci (KIA) Fuad Dibra |
Vladimir Stoychev Kiril Stanchev Mile Čalović Tomica Popović Fadil Hoxha Abdullah Krashnica (KIA) Sinan Hasani Mihailo Apostolski Hristijan Todorovski Karpoš (KIA) | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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Karadak battalion Kachak fighters from Karadak Army Group E 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg |
8th, 12th, 16th, 17th, 18th Macedonian Brigades 2nd and 3rd Kosovska Brigades | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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1944:
1947: 1,735 rebels (Only in Karadak) |
5 Divisions 2 Divisions | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 11,200 killed, including militants and civilians |
Tsardom of Bulgaria unknown
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The insurgency in Karadak–Gollak, also known as the War in Eastern Kosovo (Albanian: Lufta e Kosovës Lindore), was a series of Albanian riots in the Karadak and Gollak regions with spillover into the Anamorava regions. Initially directed against Bulgarian, German, and Italian occupation following the Invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, it later targeted the Yugoslav Partisans who were attempting to gain control of the area.
In early October 1951, amidst the post-war era, the state security service of Yugoslavia (UDBA) sought to eliminate Hasan Remniku and Mustafa Kokaj, the last of the Ballist and Kachak rebel leaders. UDBA agents, disguised as individuals offering assistance to smuggle Kokaj and Remniku across the border into Albania, lured them into an ambush set up by Yugoslav forces on October 6, 1951. The ensuing three-day confrontation between Yugoslav and Ballist forces resulted in the deaths of Kokaj, Remniku, and the majority of their soldiers.