Taken from by Dr. Muhamet Shatris “MBROJTJA E KOSOVËS DHE E TREVAVE TË TJERA SHQIPTARE NGA SULMET ÇETNIKE SERBO-MALAZEZE (May 1941 – October 1944)

The creation and activity of Chetnik formations along the border of ethnic Albanian lands with Serbia and Montenegro constituted a permanent threat and kept alive the efforts and struggle of the Albanian people for existence and self-defense. The Albanians who had been prey to the exterminating and assimilating policy of the Serbian government and had very fresh traces of the crimes of the Chetnik and Serbian military units were determined not to allow the penetration of these units into their ethnic territories.

The arena of continuous clashes between Chetnik units and Albanian volunteer units, starting from the end of the spring of 1941 and continuing throughout the war, became the regions near the border belt with Serbia and Montenegro. Thus, the territory of Mitrovica was in a difficult position, and especially the 32 villages of the municipality of Kolashini with 6 villages at the foot of Mount Cerni Vërh, where the Italians, influenced by the Serbs and Montenegrins, had not designated border divisions. Taking advantage of this circumstance, Chetnik units and Serbian partisans passed freely around the Rogozna mountain range, threatening Tutini, Rozhaja, Mitrovica and Novi Pazar.

The situation was equally serious in Llap and Gallap, and especially in the villages of the Serbian-Albanian ethnic border line. In particular, the village of Brainë was an important strategic point that separated the Albanian villages of Brainë, Nishec and Prapashticë from the Serbian villages of Gubavc and Tullar, on the other side of the border with Serbia.

On June 10, 1941, Chetnik forces led by Zhivko Deverjiq from Radisheva, Zarie Ruishiq, Radivoje Galak, etc. attacked the Albanian villages in the Ibri valley, Koshtova and Çabra. At this time, the Chetnik Aradhats were concentrated in the villages of Zubin-Potoku, who intensified their efforts to unite with the Serb-inhabited villages of Skenderaj Subprefecture, which remained in the Italian zone of occupation. The continuous attacks of the Chetnik and partisan formations forced the Albanian villagers to self-organize and commit to the defense of their homes. In these fights, Istref Behrami from Koshtova was killed and Musli Prekazi was seriously injured.

The situation that was created in these regions put the task before the Albanian local bodies of power to form the Headquarters for the protection of the border. The composition of this body included sub-prefects, commanders of gendarmerie units and mayors of municipalities. Pajazit Boletini, Mehmet Gradića, Islam Baruti, Bislim Bajgora, Ahmet and Imer Selaci, etc. were appointed commanders of the volunteer units in the northern border area.

The defense headquarters was located in Ceraj. This headquarters had the task of coordinating the actions with the gendarmerie commands in Banjska and Slatina, with local leaders and with the Bajraktars Adem Voca, Ukshin Kovačica, Kadri Bistrica, etc. Adem Boletini, the son of Isa Boletini, who had completed the Military Academy in Rome, was also involved in the coordination of the military activity. Under the command of the Headquarters for the protection of the border, volunteers were mobilized from directly endangered areas (from Ceraja, Dedija, Batahiri, Ofçari, Zabërgja, Selaci, Koshtova e Vllahija, Bistrica, etc.).

Bik Dresheviqi, commander of the border defense with Serbia, stood out in the battles against Chetnik and partisan formations in Tutini Subprefecture. Meanwhile, the main words for the protection of the border with Montenegro and Serbia in the Subprefecture of Rozhaja were given by:

Bajram Rama from Novosella i Peja and Alo Ganiqi, police commander in Rozhaja. This framework was completed by the sub-prefect of Rozhaja, Adem Naja-Kurtagaj and the clerics mulla Osmani and mulla Jakupi.

For the popular leaders and for the Albanian population of the territories that were under the threat of attacks by the Serbian and Montenegrin military units, the fight of the Albanians for the protection of their ethnic territories was a necessity. According to them, the fascist occupation was a transitory period, while the danger of the reoccupation of these territories by Serbian, Montenegrin and Bulgarian troops and their intentions to exterminate the Albanians were always evident.

In the summer of 1941, particularly fierce battles were fought for the defense of Plava and Gucia from the attacks of Montenegrin units. These battles took on a wide scope and in them the detachments of volunteers commanded by the country’s leadership stood out, led by:

Shemsi Ferrin, the leaders of Rugova, Sak Fazlia, Rizë Zymeri, Sali Rama, Zhukë Haxhia, Mon Belegu from Peja, Feriz and Kurt Bajraktari from Radavci, Haxhi Bajraktari from Vranoc, Sadri (Metë) Bytyçi from Počesta, Ukë Sahiti from Grabanica, Hajdin Sahiti from Jabllanica from Leshan, Demë Alia from Pozhar, Selim Shabani from Isniq, Lan Selimi from Lluka, Ali Bajraktari from Junikut, Sali Mani, Adem Bajrami and Rrustem Avdyli from Krasniqja, Ramë Tarquku from Shipshani and Tahir Hoxha from Gashi, Prenk Cali from Vermoshi, etc.

The fighting in Plavë was also helped by the sub-prefect of Gjakova Mehmet agë Rashkoci, while fierce fights took place in Visitor, Jeçmishte and Zhelina.

The Montenegrin forces under the command of Novica Popovic who constantly threatened Plava and Guca drew up a new plan for the conquest of these Albanian provinces. In order to face the threat, the leaders of the volunteer forces led by Shemsi Ferrin issued a summons for help in Rugova, the Dukagjini Plain and the Gjakova Malsina.20
Many volunteers from these provinces left for Plavë e Guci.

The first to go to the front were the volunteer forces of Rugova, while on July 16, 1941, the volunteer forces of the Dukagjin Plain also reached Qafë Çakorri. Sak Fazlia was charged with the direction of all volunteer forces. In the meantime, volunteers from Malësia e Gjakova and Vermoshi also came to the aid of Plava e Gucia.

On July 17, 1941, Montenegrin forces attacked in Morina e Velikë and
soon the fighting expanded to Zhanica, Pepaj and Nokshiq. But, after
After two or three days of fighting, the Montenegrin forces were defeated and retreated. On July 22, the volunteer forces continued the attack against the Montenegrin forces to expel them from that part of the Albanian territory that they had taken some time before.

Located in front of the strong resistance of the Albanian volunteer units. The Committee of the Yugoslav Communist Party for the districts of Andrijevica, Berana and Kolashi ordered the withdrawal of its forces to the Albanian-Montenegro border line of 1912. Meanwhile, it sent a delegation headed by Bogdan Shoshkiqi and Milutin Igiqi, who met with the leaders of the volunteer forces, Demë Ali Pozhar, Ali Bajraktar and Selim Shabani. Their main request for the cessation of hostilities was approved and respected by the Albanian side.

However, the agreement reached did not have a long life, as it was treacherously violated by the leaders of the PKJ Committee for Andrijevica District. On July 26, at the time when the representatives of both sides were negotiating to stop the fighting, the Committee ordered two Partisan-Chetnik battalions and an artillery battalion under the command of Gjorgje Lašić and Andrija Vesković to concentrate in Morina e Maslenica.

Fierce fighting took place in Morina, Zhanicë, Nokšić and in the direction of Çakorri and from Morina in the direction of Pepaj village. The most severe clashes were those of July 25 and 27, 1941 in Zhanica and Morina. In Zhanice, except for the fighters their formations also cooperated closely with the Chetnik Movement. In these circumstances, the Kosovar communists and the leaders of the Albanian patriotic forces were forced to come up with common positions.

Thus, Xhevdet Doda, together with Bedri Pejani, the chairman of the Kosovo Committee, asked the Montenegrin insurgent leaders not to extend the military operations to the ethnic Albanian territories, because they were not able to prevent the mobilization of Albanian volunteers for the protection of the territories own. On the basis of this determination, in August 1941, a non-aggression agreement was reached between the Serbian-Montenegro partisan units operating in the regions of Rashka and Pazar i Ri and Aqif Blyta, the coordinator of the Albanian patriotic forces in the border areas with Serbia and Montenegro.

However, even this agreement was violated very quickly by the Partisans and the Serbian Chetniks. The object of their attacks were Novi Pazar, the Ibri valley and especially the province of Shala. In Cerajë, Koshtovë and Bistrica, the Chetniks started burning houses, massacring women, children and the elderly, but encountered resistance from Albanian volunteers and could not penetrate deeper into Shale.

On September 12, 1941, General Lubo Novaković, in the letter he sent to Kosta Peçanci, known even before for crimes against Albanians, reminded him: “

“When you start on the fortunate path, I know what plans you have for our south. I believe that in Sanxhak, in Dukagjin and in Fushë-Kosovo, there will not be any plis left for seed. For two months, Llapi and Sitnica will carry the heads of Albanians“.

On September 22, 1941, the attack of the Chetnik units concentrated in Kolašin was answered by the Albanian volunteer forces from Podguri and Drenica, which managed to stop the penetration of the Chetniks into the ethnic Albanian borderlands.

The Albanian gendarmerie stations in Sllatina, Ballaban, Banjska and Stanterk became a strong dam to stop their attacks, where Mehmet Gradića, Faik Boletini, Ukë Neziri, Zijadin Ceraja, Zaim Bllaca, Islam Baruti, etc. were prominent. The Chetnik Aradha of Dukagjin, to take revenge for the defeat it suffered in these battles, on September 28, 1941, attacked the Albanian gendarmerie stations in Banjska, Slatina and in the village of Çaber, 16 km from Mitrovica.

Ali Koshtova, Ukë Sadiku, Nazif Januzi, Demë Haziri, Nazif Boshnjaku, Ahmet and Imer Selaci, Ukshin Kovačica, Bislim Bajgora, Shashivar Sadiku with his son Isa, Sadik, Bajram, Munish, Hazir and Bekë Sadiku from Bajra, Selim Hajrizi, Ukë Neziri, Sylë Baliqi, Selim Çebapxhiu, Agush Zhabari, Murat Likovci, Bajram Neziri, Nuredin Selmani (80 years old), etc.

The Chetnik Aradha of Dukagjin faced the detachment of Kadri Bistrica who took positions in Rekë of Gërkaja, at Ura e Vuça, in Slatina and in the river of Cerajë, Nuhë Isa, Miftar (Mustafë) Hërmja, Muharrem Ferizi, Jahë Kadri Bistrica, Rifat fell heroically. Sadik Dedija, Ferat and Zeqir Jaha, Jahir Sadik Bajrami, Halil Cena and Man Beqir Vllahija, young Shaban Ofçari, Miran Hajra, Feriz Maxhera, Nazif Boshnjaku, Nazif Jonuzi, while Fejze Halili, Tal (Miftar) Sejdia, Rexhep Sadik were injured. Dedija, etc.

Miran Hajra, Nazif Bosniak and Nazif Jonuzi were massacred by the Chetniks according to “ancient Slavic customs”. In order to stop the fierce fighting between the two sides, the German Regional Command in Mitrovica intervened, which on September 30, 1941 organized a meeting between representatives of the Albanian gendarmerie, headed by P. Boletini and Xh. Deva, and representatives of the Chetniks, David and Vaso Popović and Mashan Gjurović, etc. Both sides agreed to stop the fighting, while the demarcation line between them was at the Ceraja river.

But even this agreement was not respected by the Serbian Chetniks, although the Albanian gendarmerie units had withdrawn from Slatina and were concentrated on the banks of the Ceraja river. The Chetniks also violated the agreement that was made at the beginning of October 1941, in Podujevë, between Xhafer Deva and Ibrahim Lutfiu, who represented the Albanian side, and Košta Peçanci, who represented the Serbian side. The Chetnik units and the Serbian State Guard, after coming to terms with the partisans of Aradha i Kopaonik, were better equipped and took control of the entire Ibri Valley up to Slatina.

The mobilisation of Albanian volunteers

In the fall of 1941, large Chetnik forces concentrated inKopaonik and in the mouth of the Ibri directly threatened Novi Pazar, Llapand Drenica. To face the danger that came from the concentration of Chetnik formations, the Albanian People’s League and Xh. Deva ucommitted to the mobilization of Albanian volunteers from endangered territoriesmore widely, for their equipment, organization and fumigation with weapons eammunition.

Similar measures were taken in Vushtrri and its surroundings, wherethe intellectual and the patriot played an important role in the organization of the defense-lOthe well-known Jahja Fusha from Podujeva.Popular Albanian decided not to stay in a waiting position, but to take the initiative. On November 14, 1941, the volunteer forces attacked the Chetnik formations in the area of ​​Rashka, which forced the Serbian vanguard to retreat to the vicinity of this city.

Meanwhile, responding to the dedication of the Albanian People’s League, volunteers from Rugova, Podguri, Drenica and Llapusha were mobilized in defense of the New Market, who settled in the Mokna hills, the hills of the New Market and Shaplavica.

These forces were commanded by popular leaders like:

Shaban Polluzha, Mehmet and Isuf Gradića, Miftar and Cen Bajraktari, Sadik Lutani, Azem Aruqi, Alush Ismajli, Shaban, Kamer and Kajtaz Gashi from Llauša, Ajet and Hetem Bajraktari from Shtutica, Bajram, Emin and Zymer Bajraktari of Upper Klina, mullah Iljaz Broja-Spahija of Kastriot, Qazim Bajraktari of Ostrozub, Sak Fazlija of Zhyjë Keri of Rugova, Bik Dresheviqi-Bihor of Tutini, Haxhi Yahja Daci, imam of Istog, mullah Zeke Berdynaj from Radavci, Qazim Vraga-Gashi from Orrobërda, Adem Arifi from Ozrim i Peja, Kurt (Abaz) Bajraktari, Feriz (Hasan) Bajraktari, Sadik Ramë Ramaj, Osman Fetë Osmanaj from Radac,* Bajram Rama from Novosella, Ahmet Shatri from Tomoc, Sadri Bajraktari from Kadri Ceta from Trubuhoci, Tahir Ali Bicaj from Vrella, Col Bajraktari and Ramë Alia from Uça, Zeqir Rexha from Kërnina, Tush Paloka, Ukë and Ali Zeke Kabashi from Gurrakoci, Halil Osmani and Idriz Saka-Bytyçi from Istog, Isuf Visoqi and Musë Niman Mehaj from Llukavci i Begu and many others.

The fighting for the defense of Novi Pazar continued without interruption from October 31 to December 12, 1941. On November 4, 1941, Serbian forces attacked Novi Pazar, which was being defended by local volunteer forces. Bloody battles took place in Kisha e Stupce, where the Chetnik forces met face to face with the Albanian national defense forces led by Bik Dresheviqi.

Lieutenant Hysen Llakiqi, Avdullah Rozhaja, Hysen Basha, Mehmet Hajdaragiqi, Faik Koshuta, Jahë Jusuf Ramushoviqi, Hashim Kapetanoviqi, Alush Aga and three others were martyred in these battles, while the Serbian side also suffered great losses. According to the data of the time, 1,000 people from the defenders and 2,000 from the enemy took part in the fighting for the defense of the Novi Pazar.

The Serbian units that encountered the determined resistance of the volunteer forces were forced to withdraw far from the border, but without giving up their goals. About 10,000 Chetniks from Rashka, Kragujevic, Uzhica, Čačak, Kraleva and other parts of Serbia mobilized to attack the New Market.Aware of the danger coming from the attacks of the Chetnik forces, Aqif Blyta and Mullah Jakup Kombini released the siege and asked for help from Kosovo and other Albanian territories.

The call was answered by numerous volunteer forces from the Dukagjin Plain, Drenica, Shala e Bajgora, as well as the units of the “Gramos” and “Kosova” battalions of the Albanian Army. The number of volunteer forces that went to the aid of the New Market reached about 6,000 people.

They were welcomed by the residents of the New Market with Albanian folk songs and dances, by school students who had come forward with national flags and traditional Albanian clothing. These forces were sheltered in the house and received as true brothers. After the arrival of the volunteer forces, on the initiative of Aqif Blyta, the War Headquarters was formed, in which the leaders and most famous fighters such as Aqif Blyta, Mullah Jakup Kombini, Pajazit Boletini, Bislim Bajgora, Zija Kosova, Sak Fazlia, etc. entered.

The headquarters made the division of combat zones for each department. To the east of Pazar i Ri, on the line Rogozna-Kopaonik and up to the vicinity of Rashka, the volunteer forces from Mitrovica and Drenica were concentrated under the command of Shaban Polluzha, Bislim Bajgora, Ajet Koshtova, etc. Volunteers from Tutini, Tërgovishta (Rozhaja) and Bisheva under the command of Adem Naja-Kurtagaj and Qamil Prashqević were put in the defense of the city.

In the course of the river in the direction of Rashka, the unit commanded by Ali Qilergjiqi was concentrated, while in the direction of the Gjurgjevi Stubovi monastery, the volunteer forces from Strelici, Isniqi, Deçani, Lugu i Barani, Juniku, etc. The Rugovas settled on the southern side of the city, while near the barracks of the Ottoman Empire, the volunteers of Podgur led by Kurt Abazi Bajraktari, Mulla Zeke Bërdynaj and Ahmet were stationed.

Aqif Blyta asked the commanders of the volunteer forces to strictly adhere to the rules of war, the Albanian tradition, to be careful and not to harm the defenseless and their property during the operations. On November 16, 1941, the vanguard of the defense forces led by Hysen Hukaj from Uglla informed the fellow fighters to take up defensive positions, because the Chetnik forces had surrounded Pazar e Ri from all sides.

The first battles took place in Kisha e Stupça and the first attack was faced by the frightened volunteers of Hysen Hukaj, Bik Dresheviq and those of Rugova. Sak Fazlia was also injured in these battles, but he did not let go of the flag. Demë Hoxha, who was nearby, took the flag from him, but was hit to death by an enemy bullet. On November 21, the Chetniks attacked again in the direction of Novi Pazar, burning a number of Albanian villages and massacring the defenseless inhabitants.

However, their attack to take the city met the resistance of the Albanian volunteers and failed. In the fights for the protection of the Novi Pazar, alongside the men, the women and the youth of the Novi Pazar were also mobilized. In these battles, which took place in a wide sector, from Ilixha and Rogozna to the cemetery of Pazar i Ri, the volunteers from the Tutini Subprefecture led by Bik Dresheviq stood out; of Mitrovica under the leadership of:

Bislim Bajgora and Pajazit Boletini; of Drenica headed by Shaban Polluzha; of Llapusha at the top Qazim Bajraktarin; of Rugova headed by Sali Rama and Zhukë Haxhina; of Podguri in whose ranks Mullah Zekë Bërdynaj, Col Bajraktari, Ahmet Shatri, Haxhi Jahja Daci were especially prominent; of Deçan with his entourage under the command of Hasan Bajraktar, Demë Ali Pozhar and Beqir Beka, who heroically fell in these battles, etc.

However, Chetnik efforts in this direction did not stop. In the attack against Pazar i Ri, on December 5, 1941, the commanders of the Chetnik formations tried to secure the support of the German troops, misinforming them that partisan units were concentrated in the city. These deceptions did not last long and after the departure of the German troops the Chetnik formations withdrew from their positions around the Novi Pazar.

The standoff and the fight for the defense of the New Market under the command of Aqif Blyta, assisted by the volunteer forces of Kosovo and units of the Albanian Army, lasted about five weeks and ended with the defeat of the Chetnik forces. Thus, Pazar i Ri and most of Sanxhak remained within the framework of the Albanian state. The attacks of the Chetnik formations and their attempts to annex the Albanian ethnic territories continued in 1942 and they influenced the further deepening of the hatred between the peoples.

The Serbian Orthodox Church also aligned itself with the Chetnik Movement. In the sermons and in the propaganda tools of the Serbian clerics, the Albanians were described as “poisonous snakes that should be destroyed, drowned or their heads should be crushed”. Bishop Serafim of Prizren sought “mercy for the Serbs and the salvation of Serbism in the Balkans”.

In accordance with these stipulations, he demanded the ecclesiastical autonomy of the Serbs in the framework of the Italian occupation, autonomy that would resemble that enjoyed by the Serbian church during the Ottoman rule in the Balkans. The strategic goals of the Chetnik Movement for the devouring of Kosovo, the attacks and the tenor exerted by the Chetnik formations, especially in the border regions, caused indignation among the Albanians of these territories.

On February 8-121942 volunteers from Drenica, Llapi and Podguri were forced to attack the Chetnik forces that were concentrated in Kolašin in order to hinder and obstruct their projects to go out to Pejë, Mitrovica and Podujevë. From the spring of 1942, the efforts of the General Command of Chetnik troops to mobilize, organize and create new Chetnik formations intensified even more.

On May 6, 1942, based on the instructions of D. Mihajlovic, the I Chetnik Corps of Kosovo was formed, which would operate in the areas of Shan, Nerodime, Graçanica, Vushtni and Llap. The instructions of the General Command provided that in each division two brigades were to be formed in action and in reserve. Such would be the Mitrovica Brigade, the Nerodime Brigade, the Gjilan Brigade and the Sharr Brigade.

The talks took place near the Mokna Tower and were attended by Novica Popović, Vuksan Kenić, Blagoje Babić, Novaku i Kolludra and several others, while from the Albanian side Zhujë Keri, Sak Fazlia, Sali Rama, Zhukë Haxhia and Rizë Zymeri, etc. The Montenegrin side demanded an end to the conflicts and proposed a joint war against the communist forces.

At the same time, they asked to be bound and to be allowed to buy grain and free passage through the Rugova Gorge to the Dukagjin Plain. But these talks did not succeed because the Albanian side did not approve the proposals aimed at compromising Rugova’s leadership and creating conditions for the penetration of Montenegrin forces in the Dukagjin Plain.

The Montenegrin attack on Mokna

In June 1942, Mokna was attacked by Montenegrin forces. The Small Tower of Moknave, where the Albanian flag was flying, was attacked often and with many forces, and the clashes were accompanied by great losses on both sides. The battles of the volunteer forces for the defense of Plava, Gucia and Pazari Ri were followed closely by the government in Tirana.

In June 1942, during his stay in Pejë, Prime Minister Mustafa Kruja praised the heroism of the Albanian volunteers and decorated Sak Fazlina, who had become a symbol of endurance in defense of ethnic borders. In July 1942, a group of Montenegrins attacked some Rugovas, who were carrying food and ammunition for the volunteer forces to the lakes near Smilovica, but they were forced to retreat, leaving one dead, because the Rugovas were helped by the fighters of Riza Zymer that were in the vicinity of Maja i Smilovica.

Regarding this event, the General Directorate of Police in Tirana reported that 100 Montenegrins ambushed 40 people from Rugova at Kulla e Mokna. Fighting took place there from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 20, 1942, and the enemy retreated and suffered heavy losses. On July 20, 1942, Montenegrin forces again attacked the Rugovas in Mokna. The battle took place in Kulla e Vogël, where Sak Fazli’s forces were concentrated. Upon hearing the first cries, the forces of Sali Rama, Zhukë Haxhija, Isuf Bajraktar, Riza Zymer and Haxhë Mustafa, who were operating on the border line from Qafa e Çakorri to Smilovicë, those of Hajdin Sahiti and Sadri Metë came to their aid Bytyçi, as well as the shepherds of Deçan and Isniq who summered near the place where the fighting took place.

Bege Maliqi, a warrior from Rugova, who had previously fought in Zhanicë, Mokna and Smilovicë, took part in these battles and had become a symbol of the bravery of Albanian women. On July 21, 1942, fighting took place in Qafë i Sekirica, where Canë Tishuku of Isniq was martyred, while Dak Syla and Hasan Topalli from Peja died heroically in the fighting for the defense of the villages of Haxhaj and Stankaj.

The Rugova forces faced with constant Montenegrin threats, which were accompanied by burning, looting and terror, decided to attack Sekullar and its surroundings. The Rugovas took Sekullar and burned it, but unlike the Montenegrin Chetniks, they did not touch and damaged the women, children and the elderly. The volunteers penetrated into Ostrijel where fierce fights took place and where the Montenegrin units were defeated.

There were also fights around the village of Despiq, but here the residents of Rugova narrowly escaped being surrounded by Montenegrin forces. For the realization of its goals, the Chetnik Movement tried to use the international circumstances and especially the contradictions between the fascist invaders of these territories.

Thus, in the summer of 1942 there was an irritation of Italian-Bulgarian relations due to the problem of borders in the Prizren region. Chetnik leaders tried to maneuver between the two sides. On the one hand, the Bulgarian invaders tried to lure them by presenting them as liberators of the Serbs from the Albanians, and on the other hand, the request of the Italian invaders to engage and mobilize them in the war alongside them, they tried to use it to present own ambitions.

The commander-in-chief of the Chetnik formations, D. Mihajlovic, ordered the leaders in the field not to make “any agreement at the expense of the Italians.” Let them give us weapons, but without compromising national politics. They should not arm the Albanians, who are against us”. The demands presented by the Serbian Chetniks did not go unanswered.

At that time, the Italian invaders secretly supplied the Chetniks with weapons, in exchange for information about the activities of the Anti-Fascist Movement.64In December 1942, captain Zhivojin-Zhika Markovic was entrusted with the formation of the II Chetnik Corps of Kosovo. This formation would operate in the border zone between Kosovo and Serbia, and especially in the districts of Mitrovica, Vushtrri and Llapi. 65 In the ethnic Montenegrin-Albanian border zone, the Chetnik formations of Montenegro and Sanjak would operate, under the command of Pavle Gjurishić.

These formations would exert continuous pressure in the regions of Tuzi, Plava e Gucia, Rugova, Rozhaja, Tutin, Bihor and other ethnic Albanian-Bosnian territories.66From the end of 1942 and the beginning of 1943, the aggressiveness of Chetnik-partisan and Bulgarian forces on Kosovo and the territories to the north and southeast of it was constantly increasing.

The Chetnik formations narrowed the siege on the territories of Senica, Peshter, Tutin, Petnica, Rozhaja, as well as on the ethnic Albanian provinces along the border line. The action of the Chetnik formations to tighten the grip around Kosovo and on the Albanians was combined with the policy of the Bulgarian conqueror. 67 The latter intensified the policy of violence and terror in the regions occupied by him in order to force the Albanians to leave their homes. own. These facts were also forced to be confirmed by the administrative bodies.

Reference

Taken from by Dr. Muhamet Shatris “MBROJTJA E KOSOVËS DHE E TREVAVE TË TJERA SHQIPTARE NGA SULMET ÇETNIKE SERBO-MALAZEZE (May 1941 – October 1944)