Luma (region)

Luma region (green). Two villages of the Vërrini region in Kosovo and one village of the Gora region in Albania are traditionally associated with Luma only in relation to their historical tribal affiliation (yellow)

Lumë (Albanian definite form: Luma) is a region that extends itself in northeastern Albania and southwest Kosovo whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribe (fis) of the same name.[1] It includes the village with the same name, Lumë, which is located in Albania. Luma is surrounded by Has region (north and northwest), Fan and Orosh (west), Reçi and M’Ujë e m’Uja (south west), Upper Reka (south east), Gora (east), Opoja and Vërrini of Prizren (north east).[2] The region itself also includes the small Arrëni tribe in the west and the Morina tribe in the east.

Only a small portion of the region, half of historic Tërthorë bajrak (tribal banner), is situated within the borders of Kosovo, from Prizren city to the border between Kosovo and Albania.

During the Balkan wars (1912-1913), Serb military forces attempting to assert their control of the region entered Luma and attacked local inhabitants, killed tribal chieftains, removed livestock belonging to the population and razed villages.[3] The actions resulted in a local uprising by Albanians.[3] Serb forces retaliated through a scorched earth policy and massacres of the population ranging from the young to elderly, both men and women such as barricading people in mosques and houses and then firing upon or burning them.[3] Following the events, 25,000 people fled to Kosovo and western Macedonia.[3] The events have been considered as constituting a "localized genocide".[3]

  1. ^ Robert Elsie (30 May 2015). The Tribes of Albania: History, Society and Culture. I.B.Tauris. pp. 281–282. ISBN 978-1-78453-401-1.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gjabri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d e Levene, Mark (2013). The Crisis of Genocide. Volume I: Devastation: The European Rimlands 1912–1938. Oxford University Press. p. 107. ISBN 9780199683031.