Military history of Serbia > The battle of Košare

The battle of Košare

THE BATTLE OF KOŠARE
9 APRIL – 14 JUNE 1999

In recent history, the Battle of Košare has become synonymous with the defence of the homeland. On 9 April, the KLA attacked frontier sentries at the Košare military outpost from the direction of Albania. The outpost is located on the slopes of Prokletije, in the area of the Junička Mountain, between the towns of Đakovica and Peć. No one had expected that the land invasion would be carried out over impassable mountain peaks some of which are up to 2,000 metres high. It was an attempt to invade Yugoslavia by land.

Colonel Ljubinko Djurković, Commander of the 2nd Battalion, 125th Motorized Brigade: “By initially directing their forces towards Košare, the NATO planners wanted to use the element of surprise, split apart the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, make a rapid entry into the Metohija valley, cut off the main body of the army from other Pristina Corps forces, force their way into Pristina as quickly as possible and practically divide the Pristina Corps into two parts, surrounding it with part of the forces, bring in new troops by airborne assault in the Drenica region and practically defeat, destroy the Pristina Corps and fully occupy the territory”.

In the battle that lasted 67 days, the Yugoslav Army soldiers managed to stop further advance of the enemy towards Kosovo and Metohija. Enemy forces seized some positions where frontier sentries lay in ambush. They also siezed the Košare outpost which was not guarded due to its unfavourable position. The enemy could not go further than that front line, which was formed in the first days of the attack.

Colonel Duško Šljivančanin, Commander of the 53rd Border Battalion: "In the first wave, the state border was attacked primarily by the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army that received all instructions and orders from the regular Albanian Armed Forces, with the support of NATO aviation. When we talk about the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia being attacked by 19 member states of the NATO Alliance, we never mention that the aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was carried out by the Republic of Albania."

The KLA terrorists, who were attacking Košare in those days, had come to Albania from Kosovo during 1998 and early 1999, where they underwent military training in terrorist camps. The data show that there were about 6,000 of them in the wider area of the Košare outpost. About 1,500 to 2,000 people usually took part in the attacks.

Colonel Duško Šljivančanin, Commander of the 53rd Border Battalion: "Another characteristic of the Battle of Košare is the grossly disproportionate balance of power between the ones who carried out the aggression and the frontier sentries who defended the state border. In the first days, there were somewhere between 120 and 130 frontier sentries in the area of the Košare outpost, and on the other side, now that the Albanians have started talking about it, there were several thousand people attacking in waves. "

The balance of power was soon equalized. The frontier sentries were joined by soldiers of the 125th Motorized Brigade, members of the Military Police, the 63rd Parachute Brigade, and part of the 72nd Special Operations Brigade, volunteers, etc.

Ljubinko Djurković, Commander of the 2nd Battalion, 125th Motorized Brigade: "During the Battle of Košare, 1,357 of us took part in daily fights, but some of the fighters were replaceable, so about 2,500 people, fighters, COs, officers and NCOs took part in the battle of Košare".

Exactly 108 members of the Yugoslav Army were killed in the Battle of Košare. The Yugoslav Army withdrew from Košare only after the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement. Until 14 June, the enemy could not cross Košare.

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