The Pestovë ambush was an attack perpetrated by Serbian Police Units (MUP) to eliminate Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) founder Zahir Pajaziti and his fellow commanders Edmond Hoxha and Hakiz Zejnullahu. It resulted in the deaths of all three commanders.[1][2]
| Pestovë Ambush | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Insurgency in Kosovo (1995–1998) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kosovo Liberation Army |
 FR Yugoslavia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Zahir Pajaziti † Edmond Hoxha † Hakif Zejnullahu † |
Vlastimir Đorđević | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
Unknown |
Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
3 killed |
None | ||||||
Attack
editOn January 31, 1997, Kosovo Liberation Army commander Pajaziti and his assistants Edmond Hoxha and Hakiz Zejnulahhu were traveling in the same car together on the highway from Priština to Mitrovica. In the village of Pestovë, Yugoslav policemen set up an ambush and opened fire on the car, killing all three.[2][3]
Aftermath and legacy
editThe car in which they were killed in is stored as an artifact in the courtyard of the first KLA military base, in the village of Podujevo.[3] In 2008, the president of Kosovo, Fatmir Sejdiu, declared Pajaziti a Hero of Kosovo.[3] He is commemorated by a statue on Mother Teresa Boulevard in Pristina.[4]
References
edit- ^ Perritt, Henry H. (2010-10-01). Kosovo Liberation Army: The Inside Story of an Insurgency. University of Illinois Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-252-09213-8.
- ^ a b "Zahir Pajaziti and his fellow fighters are remembered as an inspiration for the KLA". KOHA.net. 31 January 2023.
- ^ a b c "Bullet-holed Lada Remains Symbol of Kosovo Resistance". Prishtina Insight. 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
- ^ Björkdahl, Annika; Kappler, Stefanie (2017). Peacebuilding and spatial transformation: Peace, space and place. Routledge. p. 58. ISBN 9781317409427.