KLA Summer offensive (1998)

The Summer offensive was a large scale offensive by the Kosovo Liberation Army against the Yugoslav Army and the Serbian police that took place in Kosovo in 1998.
It began when the KLA switched their tactics from hit and run operations to conventional warfare. KLA forces began attacking towns and expanding their territory. KLA forces had captured about 40% of Kosovo, and set up “Operational Zones”. Although this has been disputed since the KLA denied access to observes in many areas. Yugoslav soldiers and policemen were attacked, leading to many casualties.

Background

Following World War II, Kosovo was given the status of an autonomous province within the Socialist Republic of Serbia, one of six constitutional republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. After the death of Yugoslavia's long-time leader Josip Broz Tito in 1980, Yugoslavia's political system began to unravel. In 1989, Belgrade abolished self-rule in Kosovo, as well as Serbia's other autonomous province, Vojvodina, as part of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević's "anti-bureaucratic revolution". Though inhabited predominantly by ethnic Albanians, Kosovo was of great historical and cultural significance to the Serbs. Alarmed by their dwindling numbers, the province's Serbs began to fear they were being "squeezed out" by the Albanians. As soon as Kosovo's autonomy was abolished, a minority government run by Serbs and Montenegrins was appointed by Milošević to oversee the province, enforced by thousands of heavily armed paramilitaries from Serbia-proper. Albanian culture was systematically repressed and hundreds of thousands of Albanians working in state-owned companies lost their jobs.
In 1996, a group of Albanian nationalists calling themselves the Kosovo Liberation Army began attacking the Yugoslav Army and the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Kosovo. Their goal was to separate the province from the rest of Yugoslavia, which following the separation of Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1991–92, became a rump federation made up of Serbia and Montenegro. At first the KLA carried out hit-and-run attacks: 31 in 1996, 55 in 1997, and 66 in January and February 1998 alone. The group quickly gained popularity among young Kosovo Albanians, many of whom favoured a more aggressive approach and rejected the non-violent resistance of politician Ibrahim Rugova. The organization received a significant boost in 1997, when an armed uprising in neighbouring Albania led to thousands of weapons from the Albanian Army's depots being looted. Many of these weapons ended up in the hands of the KLA. The KLA also received substantial funds from its involvement in the drug trade. The group's popularity skyrocketed after the VJ and MUP attacked the compound of KLA leader Adem Jashari in March 1998, killing him, his closest associates and most of his extended family. The attack motivated thousands of young Kosovo Albanians to join the KLA, fueling the Kosovar uprising that eventually erupted in the spring of 1998.

Clashes in Belaćevac

In mid-June, KLA fighters were approaching the Belaćevac coal mine. Upon hearing that KLA fighters were approaching the mine, the MUP personnel stationed there fled the mine. On 22 June 1998, the KLA seized the Belaćevac coal mine near the town of Obiliq. This operation by the KLA would threaten energy supplies to the region. Upon entering the mine, the militants took a number of Serb mineworkers hostage, halting production.
Backed by armoured vehicles, artillery and a number of tanks, hundreds of VJ and MUP personnel moved to recapture Belaćevac beginning on 29 June. One group of militants, including Bekim Berisha soon tactically withdrew from Belaćevac, while another barricaded itself inside the mine's management building and workshops. By 1 July, the mine was back in Yugoslav hands.

Battle of Vërrin

In 7th July 1998, the Kosovo Liberation Army's 125th Brigade, led by Agim Shala had fought with the Serbian forces in the village of Billushë, which they eventually captured. After the Battle in Billushë, fighting spread ocross the Vërrin region. On 16th July, the KLA excelled in the Battle of Tusus and at Hoçë e Qytetit, where they would capture the places and the Vërrin region. It was also the first frontal Battle in the Prizren Muncipality during the War.

Battle of Orahovac

During 18–19 July KLA managed to capture Orahovac, however it was recaptured only 3 days later by Yugoslav forces expelling 25,000 people and killing at least 64 Albanian civilians.

Drenica attacks

In Drenica, during August, the KLA launched a series of attacks on MUP personnel. KLA militants mined roads, booby-trapped houses, dug trenches, established checkpoints, and built bunkers. Because of the geography of the Drenica region, MUP personnel were prone to attacks by KLA militants. Hit-and-run attacks were launched by the KLA, which was deadly for MUP personnel as the KLA would slip out of the area after launching attacks, giving MUP no time to react. Throughout August, 17 MUP policemen were killed. In early August, the Yugoslav forces had launched an offensive on the Drenica region and managed to capture a few villages, including Llaushë and Likovac leading to thousands of Kosovar Albanian civilians to be driven into the hills.