The “Dukagjin Plain Uprising”, the most powerful Albanian uprising in Kosovo against Serbian power, for liberation and national unity, took place in the period between the two world wars. The restoration of Serbian power in Kosovo, in 1918, led to the reorganization of the armed resistance of the Albanian population. The violence and terror of the Serbian authorities infuriated the people and led to the outbreak of a general uprising. The first armed confrontations began on October 25, 1918. The organization of the armed resistance was taken over by the Kosovo Committee. Major Hysni Curri was placed in charge of the insurgent forces. The Albanian gangs operated on the basis of a program formulated by the Committee. The basic political and military tasks of the insurgent forces were clearly defined in the program. In February 1919 in Rugovë, Plavë and Guci it was fought frontally against Serbian military forces. The uprising, even though it involved almost all of Kosovo, is better known as the Dukagjin uprising. Among its main leaders were: Azem Galica, Sadik Rama, Ramadan Shabani, Zef Gjidoda, etc. On April 24, 1919 , calls for an uprising, which was set to begin on May 6, were distributed in most of the territory of Kosovo. On this same day, under the leadership of Azem Galica, over 1,000 insurgents attacked Deviq (administrative center) and later the Serbian forces in the villages of Rezallë and Kopiliq. On the same day, the uprising began in the Peja region, in Llapushë, under the leadership of Sadik Rama, Ramadan Shabani, Beqir and Zeqir Rexha; in Rugova under the leadership of Ker Sadria; in Llapa under the leadership of Rame Vllasa, Hys Popova, Osman Pollata, Sahit Shajkovci, and others. The majority of the territory of Drenica, Llap, Llapushë, and Dukagjini was liberated by the insurgents, who established their power. Almost throughout the entire time of the uprising, the main headquarters of the uprising was located in the village of Sverkë in Gashi, from where the operations were directed. By mid-May, there were about 10,000 insurgents in Kosovo. Due to the lack of proper military equipment, food, and because of artillery bombardments by the Yugoslav army, the intensity of the uprising began to decline from the beginning of June. The liberation forces were partly dispersed into small groups in the mountains, and partly forced to leave and settle in Albania. In Kosovo, during the uprising of 1919, 12,291 people were killed, and 5,345 houses were burned. Despite the significant damages, armed resistance in various forms continued until 1941. (In the photo: View from the Dukagjin Plain.)
Text: The encyclopedic dictionary of Kosovo – Vol. I , Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo, Prishtina, 2018, page 897.
Photo: © https://www.facebook.com/788310334704138/photos/788363894698782/
Graphic processing: AHCF
