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TheAlbanian Civil War was an armed conflict that took place alongsideWorld War II in Albania. The war was fought betweenLANÇ on one side, andBalli Kombëtar andLegality Movement on the other. The conflict was a classic confrontation between two Albanian political currents, the right-wing and the left-wing. The conflict began after the breakdown of theMukje Agreement by the Communists, following the orders of the Yugoslav envoys stationed with them.
From August 1–3, 1943, in the village ofMukaj inKrujë, under the influence ofAbaz Kupi, a joint meeting was held between the delegates ofLANÇ andBalli Kombëtar. The purpose was to unite Albanian forces under a single front to fight against the occupiers.[2] Initially, discussions began in the village of Tapizë, near Krujë, on July 26, before being moved to Mukje. The two groups reached an agreement in principle and signed theMukje Agreement, which proposed the formation of the Committee for the Salvation of Albania, a united front against the occupiers, and the creation of aGreater Albania.[3]
"Today, on August 1, 1943 (01.08.1943), in the village of Mukje, the second meeting was held between the delegations of Balli Kombëtar and LANÇ."[4]
The chairmanship of the meeting was unanimously entrusted to Mr.Thoma Orollogaj, withMustafa Gjinishi as secretary. The discussions were opened by Mr.Hasan Dosti, a delegate of Balli Kombëtar, who declared that after consultations with the leadership of Balli Kombëtar, the minutes of the agreement made on July 25, 1943, signed "a referendum" by the delegation of Balli Kombëtar, it was deemed necessary to review certain points of the reached accord.[5]
The following points were discussed and decided:[4]
Hasan Dosti,Mid'hat Frashëri,Thoma Orollogaj,Skënder Muço, Hysni Lepenica, Isuf Luzaj, Kadri Cakrani, Major Raif Fratani, Nexhat Peshkëpia, Halil Mëniku, Ismail Petrela, andVasil Andoni.
Lieutenant Colonel Jahja Çaçi,Myslim Peza,Abaz Kupi,Ymer Dishnica,Mustafa Gjinishi,Omer Nishani, Sulo Bogdo, Shefqet Boja,Medar Shtylla,Haki Stërmilli, G. Nushi, and a certain Stefan.
The agreement came to be criticized as "a betrayal of the people and revolution" and "against the fundamental principles of theConference of Pezë".[6]
After failure of the agreement, Balli Kombëtar chose to openly collaborate with the Germans after thecapitulation of Italy, while the Communist Party of Albania continued to fight alongside theYugoslav Partisans. Legaliteti would continue fighting against the fascist armies, but the distance between them and the Communists would get larger and larger. The communists would consider them counterrevolutionary by the end of the war.
The communists' history in the following decades would criticize the agreement and its protagonists (including Dishnica and Gjinishi), and consider it a trap from the Balli side.[7]
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Southern Albania served as the primary theater of the Civil War, as the two main factions,LANÇ andBalli Kombëtar, were heavily concentrated in the region. Both sides, but especially the communists, carried out massacres and assassinations, leaving hundreds dead across the south. On September 8, 1943, the Front executed six Ballist youth in the village of Ziçisht. Clashes had also occurred earlier, with a notable one in Libohovë in August.
October 1, 1943, is considered the official start of the civil war. On that date, in a letter to the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Gjirokastër,Enver Hoxha declared:
On the same day, Hoxha issued a circular letter toLiri Gega ("Muzhiku") and all regional committees of the Communist Party, instructing them to initiate war againstBalli Kombëtar, disregarding all circumstances and consequences:
The communists struck first, catching the Ballists off guard, as their leader, Hysni Lepenica, had died in a clash with the Italians on September 16. Three days later, another Ballist commander,Safet Butka, committed suicide.
From mid-October onwards, violence escalated:
In November, the Ballists reorganized and launched a counterattack, aided by theGerman winter offensive against Partisan forces. While some Ballist groups joined German efforts, others regrouped in Berat, Korçë, and Gjirokastër. However, the communists, with support from British missions, broke the German-Ballist encirclement and concentrated their forces in Berat and Elbasan. By December, Balli had lost control of southern Albania and retreated northward with the Germans.
The communists intensified their campaigns of terror, committing massacres across Vlorë, Mallakastër, and Voskopojë (where a mass grave of 185 bodies was found). Notable battles included:
As Balli retreated north, fighting shifted to central and northern Albania. In March 1944, the communists clashed with Ballist forces led by Nezir Muzhaqi in Polis, Elbasan,Xhem Hasa in Dibër. By spring and summer, battles expanded to central Albania in areas such as Kavajë, Shijak, and Tirana.
In fall 1944, the communists launched attacks in Kosovo, targeting Ballist forces led by Ejup Binaku, as well as nationalist groups in Shkodër and Dukagjin organized by the Kazazi brothers, Mark Sadiku, and Ndue Pali. On June 1, 1944, the First Assault Division advanced into central and northern Albania, engaging Ballist forces in Çermenikë, Librazhd, and Zaranikë.
In Tirana, the 5th Brigade fought against the Legality Movement's headquarters at Tujan Pass.Abaz Kupi withdrew to avoid further civil war, informing King Zog of the bloodshed. In Mat, Partisans clashed withLegality forces, including a battle in Fushë-Aliaj on July 9, where 21 Partisans were killed.
The northern nationalist leaders, caught unprepared and divided, were defeated more easily than Balli in the south. Notable incidents included:
In May 1944Mit'hat Frashëri sent to the nationalist party ofNapoleon Zervas in Greece a letter asking for the creation of a Greek-Albanian federation after the end of the War.[8] The main points of the letter were:
In August 1944, nationalist forces regrouped in Preza, Tirana, forming a government led byMit'hat Frashëri as prime minister andAbaz Kupi as commander of the armed forces. Despite some regional alliances, such as those in Luma, Lura, Mat, and Dibër, the communists' numerical superiority prevailed.
From September 21–23, clashes in Kukës resulted in five civilian deaths. On September 25, Partisans under Shefqet Peçi massacred 21 villagers in Buzëmadhe, Kukës.Muharrem Bajraktari narrowly escaped an ambush by communist forces during failed peace negotiations.
Communists also targeted forces led byGani Kryeziu in the Gjakova Highlands. On November 28–29, 1944, Shkodër fell to Partisans, and Albania was entirely under communist control.
After the war, anti-communist forces organized theCommittee of the Mountains, which led anti-communist movements in the northern regions ofAlbania. In 1945 and 1946, two major anti-communist uprisings took place inPostribë andKoplik, but both failed. The communist regime created theForcat e Ndjekjes (Pursuit Forces) to track and eliminate anti-communist leaders, particularlyMuharrem Bajraktari andGjon Markagjoni.
