Graštica Ambushes

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Graštica Ambushes
Part of Kosovo War
Date 18 May 1999 Location Grashticë, Stallovë, Keçekolle, Llukar, FR Yugoslavia Result KLA victory Extensive amount of equipment captured[1]
Belligerents
Kosovo Liberation Army	FR Yugoslavia
Units involved
153rd Brigade military police	Yugoslav Army
Strength
Unknown	Unknown number of soldiers 2 Pinzgauer
Casualties and losses
Unknown	8-10 killed[2][3] 2 missing[4] 1 Pinzgauer destroyed 1 Pinzgauer damaged and later abandoned

The Graštica ambushes were a series of incidents that occurred on 18 May 1999, when members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) ambushed Yugoslav Army convoys in and around Graštica.

In late March, 1999, a teenage girl and her family were among the many Albanians who were forcibly expelled from their homes and from Prishtina by Serbian forces. They fled on a convoy to Graštica. After several weeks, the family had to flee again in a convoy, together and returned to Prishtina. After returning one morning in May 1999, a group of Serbian policemen took the teenager from her home to the Bozhur Hotel, a place notorious for the mistreatment of Kosovo Albanians. There one of the policemen raped her. A second policeman tried to come into the room, but was prevented by the first policeman after the victim promised to bring her sister for his friend. In a span of days, the policemen continued to harass and intimidate the teenager and her family. Out of fear of further sexual assaults, the teenager and her family fled to North Macedonia.^[5]

In April 1999, a witness observed a Kosovo Albanian girl traveling with displaced persons from Graštica to Prishtina.^[6] At a stop in Lukare, two men approached: one in a black sleeveless shirt and green camouflage pants with knives, and another in a blue camouflage police uniform. The man in the sleeveless shirt took the girl into the woods, while the policeman stood guard. When the man with the shaved head came the policeman went into the woods. Her cries were heard from the convoy, and after about half an hour, she returned visibly shaken, barefoot, wrapped in a blanket, and seemingly naked, having been clothed before entering the woods.^[7]

On May 8, Yugoslav and KLA units clashed in the village of Kolić. According to the commander of the KLA unit, Vehbi Hajzeri, the clash resulted in casualties on the Yugoslav side.^[8]

On the day of the ambush, at around 16:00, the KLA's 3rd Squadron from kopranëve was deployed to locate Xheladin Krasniqi, a KLA soldier captured by Serbian forces. The squadron searched near Graštica but found no trace of him.^[9][8]

During their search, they observed a green Golf 2 car with four uniformed Serbian soldiers. The KLA soldiers opened fire from approximately fifty meters away.^[10] The car escaped and drove towards Prishtina but was later abandoned with dead Serbian soldiers inside.^[8]

Simultaneously, the KLA military police received a call from a KLA unit in Kolić, that they were surrounded by Serb military and paramilitary forces. The military police quickly gathered nine officers and moved towards the well in Graštica, where they were reinforced by a unit under the command of Enver Grajçevci. The unit planned to approach from the side of the mountain. However, the unit in Kolić radioed back, advising the police to turn back due to unsafe conditions. Heeding this warning, the unit relocated to Stallov.^[8]

At Stallov Crossroads, KLA soldiers awaited a Serb truck from Kolić. They spotted the truck 150 meters away and opened fire. Avni Krasniqi, a KLA soldier, fired a mortar but missed, hitting near the truck's front left side. Halim Berisha, a sniper shot and killed the driver,^[8][11] causing it to veer off and crash. Disoriented Serbian soldiers emerged, prompting a firefight. Additional enemy vehicles opened fire, forcing KLA soldiers to retreat and regroup 100 meters from the main road. There, they regrouped with additional soldiers from the 153rd Brigade.^[8]

Half an hour after the first ambush, a truck carrying soldiers arrived from Kečikol. KLA soldiers immediately opened fire. Misim Krasniqi launched an M80 Zolja rocket at the truck but missed. The truck escaped, likely with casualties. An abandoned Serbian soldier chased the truck but was left behind.^[8]

During this time, a white Yugo car and truck filled with Serbian soldiers from Kolić arrived at the Kečikol Crossroads. Only two KLA soldiers, Agim Latifi and Misim Krasniqi, were able to attack the car, leaving the Yugo's windows blood-stained. The damaged truck was also later found abandoned 500 meters away. The Serbian soldiers had fled. The KLA soldiers then returned to their positions to secure the area.^[8]