42°46′N 20°49′E / 42.767°N 20.817°E
Attack on Prekaz | |||||||
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Part of the Kosovo War | |||||||
One of the houses attacked by the Serbian police | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
FR Yugoslavia | Kosovo Liberation Army | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Shaban Jashari † | |||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Serbian police Special Operations Unit | Kosovo Liberation Army | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
5,000 policemen and special forces; at least one attack helicopter, several APCs, armoured vehicles, mortars and artillery[1][2][3][4] | 28 militants | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2 policemen killed 7 wounded [5] | 28 killed[6] | ||||||
55-58 non-combatants killed, including at least three by summary execution[7][8][9][10][11] Up to 5,000 civilian refugees[12] |
The Attack on Prekaz, also known as the Prekaz massacre,[13] was an operation led by the Special Anti-Terrorism Unit of Serbia which lasted from 5 to 7 March 1998, whose goal was to eliminate Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) suspects and their families.[14][15] During the operation, KLA leader Adem Jashari and his brother Hamëz were killed, along with nearly 60 other family members.
The attack was criticized by Amnesty International, which wrote in its report that: "all evidence suggests that the attack was not intended to apprehend armed Albanians, but to eliminate the suspects and their families." Serbia, on the other hand, claimed the raid was due to KLA attacks on police outposts.[14]
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page).