| Battle of Podujevo | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theKosovo War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Yugoslavia[1] |  Kosovo Liberation Army | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Sreten LukićVlastimir ĐorđevićJanko Lazarević | Kadri Kastrati | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 Special Anti-Terrorist Unit 5th Novi Sad batalion | Shala Operational Zone | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 250 policemen 13+ armored vehicles[3]T-55 andM-84 tanks[citation needed] | 25 militants[3] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 killed 6 wounded[4] 2APC's destroyed[5] | 10 killed[6] | ||||||
TheBattle of Podujevo (Albanian:Beteja e Tabeve te Llapashticës;Serbian:Битка код Подујева,Bitka kod Podujeva) was fought in theKosovo War between the YugoslavSpecial Anti-Terrorist Unit andKLA insurgents in the village of Llapashtica e Epërme in the municipality ofPodujevo. These events started after the death of a policeman who was killed by KLA militants in the area.[7]
The Battle occurred between 23–27 December 1998. Yugoslav forces had the goal of destroying the ZOLL (Operative Zone ofLlap) headquarters of the KLA.[8] Before reaching the village of the ZOLL headquarters, the Yugoslav forces were met with strong resistance of the KLA at Tabe.[9] On December 25th, KLA fighters ambushed a police car in the village of Zakut in the Podujevo municipality and in the city centre, explosives were hurled at the homes of local Serbian police officers.[10] Fighting in Podujevo continued until December 27, whenYugoslav Army (VJ) forces secured the town following the withdrawal of theKosovo Liberation Army (KLA).[11] On the same day,Yugoslav police attempted to capture Llapashtica, but were ambushed byKLA fighters en route.[5] TheKLA reportedly used 120-millimeter mortars, destroying twoarmoured personnel carriers (APCs) and wounding three officers.[5] AlthoughYugoslav police repelled the ambush, theKLA held their positions in the village.[5] Diplomats indicated that theKLA in Llapashtica was also open to negotiations.[5] According to international monitors who contributed toOperation Eagle Eye, this battle shattered a ceasefire called on by foreign forces. At the conclusion of the fighting, theKosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission monitored a convoy of Yugoslav Army vehicles.[12]
While the police fought ethnic-Albanian rebels along the road, other police units tried to enter rebel-controlled territory nearby and were caught in ambushes that left two armored personnel carriers destroyed and three officers wounded, Government officials said. The officials said rebels used a 120-millimeter mortar in the ambushes. Diplomats said the rebels conceded that the report about the size of the mortar was true, which means the rebels have much larger weapons than had been known. Smaller mortars were used in the combat on the main road, though it was unclear which side was using them. Heavy machine-gun fire poured from police units that commandeered a motel near the road. The police appeared to push back the attackers after about a half-hour.
While the police fought ethnic-Albanian rebels along the road, other police units tried to enter rebel-controlled territory nearby and were caught in ambushes that left two armored personnel carriers destroyed and three officers wounded, Government officials said. The officials said rebels used a 120-millimeter mortar in the ambushes. Diplomats said the rebels conceded that the report about the size of the mortar was true, which means the rebels have much larger weapons than had been known. Smaller mortars were used in the combat on the main road, though it was unclear which side was using them. Heavy machine-gun fire poured from police units that commandeered a motel near the road. The police appeared to push back the attackers after about a half-hour. Diplomats said the rebels were in a mood to negotiate but remained in their positions.
In an increasingly familiar on-again, off-again pattern, the cease-fire held today as the two sides returned to apparent compliance with the OSCE Verification Agreement. Podujevo was again the focus: KLA forces reportedly withdrew a significant distance from yesterday's contested positions, and police and VJ units displayed limited disengagement there. No attack or fighting by either party was reported in the area today. The Serbian side again voiced their commitment to abide by the Agreement.