Insurgency in the Preševo Valley
| Insurgency in the Preševo Valley | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Yugoslav Wars | |||||||||
Clockwise from top-left: Kenneth Quinlan, Ninoslav Krstić and Nebojša Čović before Serb forces entered Ground Safety Zone, KFOR patrolling along Kosovo-Serbia border | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| UÇPMB |
FR Yugoslavia KFOR | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Shefket Musliu (Highest commander) Muhamet Xhemajli (North zone commander) Ridvan Qazimi "Lleshi" † (Center zone commander) Njazi Azemi "Mjekrra" † (115th "Karadak" Brigade commander) Bardhyl Osmani "Delta" † (113th "Ibrahim Fejzullahu" Brigade commander) Shaqir Shaqiri (South zone commander 1999-2001) Mustafa Shaqiri (South zone commander 2001) Pacir Shicri (UÇPMB spokesman) Tahir Dalipi (UÇPMB spokesman) Lirim Jakupi (UÇPMB spokesman) |
Slobodan Milošević (President, 1999–2000) Vojislav Koštunica (President, 2000–01) Col. General Nebojša Pavković (Chief of the General Staff) Lt. Col. General Vladimir Lazarević (Commander of the 3rd Army) Lt. Col. General Ninoslav Krstić (Commander of the Joint Security Forces) Goran Radosavljević (Police General) Milorad Ulemek (Secret police) Nebojša Čović (Head of Coordination Center for Southern Serbia) Dragan Dimitrijević † (Serbian General) | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 1,600 militants |
3,500–5,000 personnel 100 JSO members 100 SAJ members | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
27 militants killed 400 militants surrendered to KFOR 150 militants surrendered to the Serbian Police |
18 policemen and soldiers killed 68 soldiers and policemen wounded | ||||||||
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15 civilians killed (8 Serbs and 7 Albanians) and 25 wounded 2 UN observers wounded 15,000 refugees | |||||||||
The insurgency in the Preševo Valley was an approximately two year-long armed conflict between 1999 and 2001, between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the ethnic Albanian separatists of the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (UÇPMB). There were instances during the conflict in which the Yugoslav government requested KFOR support in suppressing UÇPMB attacks since they could only use lightly armed military forces as part of the Kumanovo Treaty that ended the Kosovo War, which created a buffer zone between FR Yugoslavia and Kosovo.