Fadil Nimani
| Fadil Nimani | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Komandant Tigri (Commander Tiger) |
| Born |
7 April 1967 Gjakova, SAP Kosovo, SFR Yugoslavia (now Kosovo) |
| Died | 26 May 2001 (aged 34) Vaksince (close to Kumanovo), Macedonia |
| Allegiance |
|
| Years of service | 1998–2001 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Unit | "Rrufeja" battalion (KLA, Kosovo) 114 Brigade (NLA, Macedonia) |
| Commands held | "Dukagjin Zone" (KLA, Kosovo) Kumanovo area (NLA, Macedonia) |
| Wars and battles |
Kosovo War (1998–99) |
Kosovo War (1998–99)
Macedonian Conflict (2001)
Fadil Nimani (7 April 1967 – 26 May 2001) was a Kosovar Albanian insurgent commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the Kosovo War (1998–99), and of the National Liberation Army (NLA) during the Macedonian Conflict (2001), in which the Albanian population sought independence of Albanian-inhabited areas in FR Yugoslavia and Republic of Macedonia, respectively. Born in Gjakova, Nimani went to local school and gymnasium, and by the start of the Kosovo War he joined the KLA and initially smuggled weapons from Albania, then became a commander in Metohija by the end of 1998. The Serbian Interior Ministry sought his arrest and he fled across into the Republic of Macedonia where he subsequently joined the NLA with the outbreak of the Macedonian conflict. He was appointed commander of the 114th Brigade of the NLA, active in the Kumanovo region, and had about 150 people under his command. He was killed by Macedonian special forces in an operation during the Macedonian Conflict, on 26 May 2001. A statue has been erected by ethnic Albanian politicians and former NLA fighters at Vaksince in his honour.
Nimani was born on 7 April 1967, in the village of Grgoc, in the municipality of Gjakova, SAP Kosovo, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia. He went to secondary school in his village, and gymnasium in the nearby village of Crmjane. An armed uprising led by Kosovo Albanian nationalists against Serbian rule erupted in the region in 1991, when an Albanian irredentist organization that came to be known as the Kosovo Liberation Army first emerged. At this time it is known that the organization underwent military training in Albania. Nimani had joined the Kosovo Liberation Army by 1998, and initially smuggled weapons from Albania at the beginning of the Kosovo War. In the end of 1998, he was appointed a commander in the "Dukagjin Zone" (Metohija, known as 'Dukagjini' in Albanian), and subsequently became the commander of the "Rrufeja" (Lightning) battalion. He received his nickname "Commander Tiger" (Komandant Tigri) during the Kosovo War. The Serbian Interior Ministry sought the arrest of Nimani after the war. He crossed into Macedonia through the Skopska Crna Gora.
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