500 soldiers and policemen 250 insurgents Start date 1998 Location Gjakova | 5 policemen killed, 2 soldiers killed; more than 10 policemen wounded 7 killed, 49 wounded Result Yugoslav Victory | |
Similar Battle of Belaćevac Mine, Battle of Junik, Kosovo War, 13 April 1999 Albania, Incident at Pristina airport | ||
Battle of glodjane
The Battle of Glođane (Serbian: Битка за Глођане; Albanian: Beteja e Glloxhanit) occurred in the village of Glođane in 1998 between the Kosovo Albanian militant group known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the Yugoslav military and Serbian police forces during the Kosovo War. 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.
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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
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.
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.