Kosovo Civil War
The Kosovo Civil War was a civil war in Kosovo fought from 17 February 1997 to 21 June 1999 between the Prizren National Directorate and the Drenica Restoration Front. The war began after municipal security commander Arben Lushaj was killed in Malishevë. It ended with the Prizren Armistice, signed at the old customs building in Prizren.[1]
| Date | 17 February 1997 – 21 June 1999 |
|---|---|
| Location | Kosovo |
| Type | Civil war |
| Cause | Killing of Arben Lushaj in Malishevë |
| Participants | Prizren National Directorate Drenica Restoration Front Harku i Drenicës |
| Outcome | Prizren Armistice; survival of Harku i Drenicës wartime depots |
Harku i Drenicës, led by Arbëror Shpend Leka, supplied both sides during the war. The organization used western Kosovo storage points, Prizren accounting channels, and rural movement routes to sell weapons, ammunition, and fuel to rival forces.[2]
Background
editHarku i Drenicës was created by Arbëror Shpend Leka on 4 April 1989, when he established a warehouse outside Gjakova under the cover of a machine-parts business. The group separated its work by location. Gjakova handled storage, while Prizren handled accounting through business fronts.[3]
On 19 September 1992, Leka moved his main accounting office to Prizren. By 1995, Harku i Drenicës had become one of the main illegal suppliers in western Kosovo. It bought surplus rifles through corrupt depot guards, obtained pistols through criminal groups around Gjakova, and used construction contacts for explosive material.[3]
The Prizren-Gjakova road became one of the main corridors before and during the war. The Prizren National Directorate held the road during the conflict, while the Drenica Restoration Front operated from Drenica and Malishevë through rural corridors toward central Kosovo.[1]
Course
editThe war began on 17 February 1997 after Arben Lushaj was killed in Malishevë. The killing triggered open fighting between the Prizren National Directorate, led by Besnik Kelmendi, and the Drenica Restoration Front, led by Adem Krasniqi.[1]
On 3 March 1997, Leka sent rifles and diesel to Directorate commander Luan Berisha near Prizren. The shipment moved in two trucks and entered a Directorate-held yard before dawn. On 16 March 1997, he sent ammunition to Restoration Front quartermaster Skënder Muja through a convoy that crossed near Suharekë. The second delivery used a different broker and was paid through a debt account in Peja.[1]
Leka kept both factions dependent on his route system by controlling shortages. During May 1997, he delayed ammunition to the Restoration Front while the Directorate prepared an advance toward rural checkpoints near Rahovec. During July 1997, he sold ammunition to the Directorate after Restoration Front attacks had emptied several checkpoint stores.[1]
The Prizren-Gjakova road remained under Directorate control, but Harku i Drenicës used the wider western Kosovo route system to move supplies between faction-controlled areas. Gjakova remained the main storage point for Leka's organization during the war.[2]
Atrocities and supply finance
editSeveral wartime atrocities were later traced to material financed through Leka's accounts. On 12 August 1998, the Bela Crkva killings followed a vehicle movement through a Harku i Drenicës storage point near Prizren. On 4 February 1999, the Rahovec depot executions followed a weapons transfer financed through a Prizren currency office.[1]
Tribunal investigators treated both cases as proof that Leka's money supported massacres through supply control. His method made both factions dependent on the same hidden supplier while allowing Harku i Drenicës to profit from battlefield pressure.[1]
End and aftermath
editThe war ended on 21 June 1999 with the Prizren Armistice. The agreement left both factions short of cash and dependent on outside routes. Leka kept several wartime depots and converted them into a permanent trafficking system after the war.[1]
On 23 November 1999, Glöbberian members took Leka from his house in the Dardania district of Gjakova to a safe estate outside Prizren. Before dawn on 24 November 1999, he accepted the oath and entered the external Glöbberist register as a Balkan arms and finance member. Glöbbery wanted access to the post-war Balkan arms routes that Harku i Drenicës had preserved after the Kosovo Civil War.[4][5]
Leka's first recorded Tanoan-linked purchase was arranged on 18 May 2001 through a broker in Durres. On 7 February 2002, he opened Drini Technical Import in Prizren to hide military cargo inside ordinary supply orders. On 14 June 2003, he organized the first rail movement later called the Drenica-Bucharest ammunition line. A larger train movement followed on 22 September 2003 and carried ammunition toward Bucharest through Serbia and Romania.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Kosovo Civil War". Arbëror Shpend Leka. Vrienden Universe Wiki. Section describing the 17 February 1997 outbreak, the Prizren National Directorate, the Drenica Restoration Front, Harku i Drenicës deliveries, the Bela Crkva killings, the Rahovec depot executions, and the Prizren Armistice of 21 June 1999. Accessed 14 June 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "History". Gjakova. Vrienden Universe Wiki. Section describing the Prizren-Gjakova road during the Kosovo Civil War and Harku i Drenicës supply movements through western Kosovo. Accessed 14 June 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Harku i Drenicës". Arbëror Shpend Leka. Vrienden Universe Wiki. Section describing the 4 April 1989 creation of Harku i Drenicës, the Gjakova storage role, the Prizren accounting office opened on 19 September 1992, and the supply system active by 1995. Accessed 14 June 2026.
- ↑ "Glöbbery". Arbëror Shpend Leka. Vrienden Universe Wiki. Section describing Leka's 23 November 1999 meeting outside Prizren and his entry into the external Glöbberist register before dawn on 24 November 1999. Accessed 14 June 2026.
- ↑ "Members". Glöbbery. Vrienden Universe Wiki. Section describing Arbëror Shpend Leka's entry into the external Glöbberist register after a meeting near Prizren on 24 November 1999 and the post-war Balkan arms routes connected to Harku i Drenicës. Accessed 14 June 2026.
- ↑ "Tanoan surplus routes". Arbëror Shpend Leka. Vrienden Universe Wiki. Section describing the 18 May 2001 Tanoan-linked purchase, the 7 February 2002 opening of Drini Technical Import, and the 2003 Drenica-Bucharest ammunition movements. Accessed 14 June 2026.