Battle of Llapushnik | |||||||
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Part of the Kosovo War | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
KLA | FR Yugoslavia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Ismet Jashari Fatmir Limaj Isak Musliu Ymer Alushani † Kadri Veseli Fehmi Lladrovci | |||||||
Units involved | |||||||
121 Brigade |
Yugoslav Army Serbian police | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
unknown | unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
47 killed[1] | Tam-110 destroyed |
The Battle of Llapushnik (Serbian:Битка код Лапушника, Albanian: Beteja e Gryka e Llapushnikut) took place on 7-10 May 1998 in the village of Llapushnik, in the district of Pristina, in Kosovo during the Kosovo war. It ended in the Kosovo Liberation Army being victorious against Yugoslav forces.[2]
On 9 May 1998,[3] Ismet Jashari, who still had not fully recovered from the injuries he suffered during an previous ambush, led his forces into Llapushnik, where he defeated the Yugoslav Army and police and captured the town.[4][5] Alongside with him were Kadri Veseli, Fatmir Limaj,[6] Isak Musliu and Ymer Alushani.[7]
The Pristina-Peja road was made impassable for the Serbian forces. The Llapushnik gorge was kept blocked for months, enabling the KLA fighters to move freely in a large part of the territory of Kosovo and this enabled them to organise and supply themselves with weapons.[8][9][10][11]