Attacks on Likošane and Ćirez
| Attacks on Likošane and Ćirez | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Kosovo War | |||||
|
|||||
| Belligerents | |||||
| Serbian special police |
 Kosovo Liberation Army
|
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| Strength | |||||
| Several APCs, a helicopter | Unknown | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| Four policemen killed, two seriously wounded | 16 | ||||
| 26 Albanians killed (including civilians) | |||||
| Likošane killings | |
|---|---|
| Date | 28 February-1 March 1998 3:30 PM–? (CET) |
| Target | Kosovo Albanians |
| Deaths | 14 |
| Ćirez killings | |
|---|---|
| Date | 28 February-1 March 1998 (CET) |
| Target | Kosovo Albanians |
Coordinates: 42°41′N 20°54′E / 42.683°N 20.900°E
On 27–28 February 1998, Serbian police were attacked by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), prompting operations in the two villages of Likošane and Ćirez near Glogovac, resulting in the killings of 16 KLA, and 26 Kosovo Albanians, including civilians.
On 28 February 1998, a firefight erupted between Albanian militants and a Serbian police patrol in the small village of Likošane. Four Serbian policemen were killed and several were injured. The KLA militants, one of whom was Adem Jashari, escaped. Subsequently, Serbian police killed thirteen people in a nearby household. Later that same day, Serbian policemen attacked the neighbouring village of Ćirez and subsequently killed 26 Albanians. However, the Albanian militants who had incited the violence managed to escape and the police decided to move in on Adem Jashari and his family.
On 28 February 1998, according to Serbian police, armed Albanians attacked a police patrol near the village of Likošane, killing four policemen and seriously wounding two. A pro-government report told that there were three simultaneous attacks on police patrols. Albanians from Likošane informed the Human Rights Watch (HRW) that they heard shooting near the village around 11 PM, and some heard that the police had been ambushed there. Unconfirmed reports tell that armed Albanians attacked the police-based ammunition plant near Donji Prekaz on 27 February, and that the police were ambushed at Likošane after a police chase.
Albanian witnesses stated that events began on the evening of 27 February, "when the KLA fired at a school housing Bosnian or Croatian Serb refugees in the nearby town of Srbica". According to Amnesty International:
The vehicle carrying KLA men was chased by police towards Likosane and a short firefight ensued. Police brought in reinforcements and the KLA may also have done so. In the fighting which followed, apparently mainly on 28 February, the police used heavy force including armoured vehicles and helicopters and the KLA apparently withdrew. Amnesty International believes that most of the ethnic Albanians who died were killed after the KLA had withdrawn as the police moved into the villages.
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