Ambush near Kosovska Mitrovica
| Ambush near Kosovska Mitrovica | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Kosovo War | |||||||
| File:Ethnic Albanians fleeing Slapuzani after shelling from Yugoslav forces.png Ethnic Albanians fleeing Slapuzani to escape clashes after shelling from Yugoslav forces. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kosovo Liberation Army |
 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
unknown |
Yugoslav Army | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
9 captured (later released)[1] |
3 killed 1 wounded[2] 8 captured (later released)[1] | ||||||
The Ambush near Kosovska Mitrovica (Serbian: Zaseda kod Kosovske Mitrovice) was an incident that occurred on 8 January 1999, when members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) ambushed a Yugoslav Interior Ministry convoy carrying rations to troops stationed in a field near Kosovska Mitrovica.[3][4][5][6] Later that evening, two columns of Yugoslav troops set off in the direction of Kosovska Mitrovica.[4] The Yugoslav troops told journalists that they were heading toward the area where the captive troops were thought to be held.[4]
Background
The pretext for the ambush was the shelling the village of Slapuzani by Yugoslav troops.[3][4][5]
Incident
On 8 January, soldiers of the Kosovo Liberation Army attacked and ambushed a Yugoslav convoy heading for Kosovska Mitrovica. The KLA killed three Serb policemen, wounded one,[2] and captured eight other policemen.[3][4][5][7] The Yugoslav army captured nine soldiers of the KLA.[1]
Aftermath
The ambush led to renewed fighting in the Podujevo area.[7] The KLA followed up the ambush with another attack on a Serbian police patrol near the village of Slivovo, killing one police officer.[2] The village of Račak served as the staging area for these ambushes, resulting in a significant build up of Yugoslav Army forces and subsequent massacre on the village.[8]
References
- ^ a b c "KOSOVO POLITICAL/DIPLOMATIC/MILITARY CHRONOLOGY". 20 April 2000.
- ^ a b c "A WEEK OF TERROR IN DRENICA". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ^ a b c "Kosovo rebels kill 3 Serbs". The Associated Press. 9 January 1999. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e "KOSOVO REBELS KILL 3 SERB POLICE, SEIZE 8 SOLDIERS IN AMBUSHES". Chicago Tribune. 9 January 1999. p. 6.
- ^ a b c "Serb forces gear up after rebels kill 3 officers, seize 8 soldiers". Deseret News. The Associated Press. 9 January 1999. p. 6.
- ^ Smith, R. Jeffrey (1999-01-28). "SERBS TRIED TO COVER UP MASSACRE". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ^ a b "USAID/OFDA Kosovo Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) Update January 11, 1999 - Albania | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 1999-01-11. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
- ^ Aertsen, Ivo; Arsovska, Jane; Vanspauwen, Kris; Valiñas, Marta; Rohne, Holger (2013). Restoring Justice After Large-scale Violent Conflicts - Kosovo, DR Congo and the Israeli-Palestinian Case. Willian Publishing. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-1-84392-302-2.