Shtutica, Drenas, April 30, 2023
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Abin Kurti, together with the Minister of Defense, Armend Mehaj, after the tributes in Marina, participated in the unveiling ceremony of the commemorative plaque in the village of Shtutica, Municipality of Drenas.
Remembering the 274 heroes and martyrs, Prime Minister Kurti said that in the area of Vërbovc and Shtutica in Drenica during the April 30 offensive, dozens of Albanians who loved their land and wanted to live free and in peace remained dead.
The Kosovo Liberation Army acted to liberate Kosovo on the ground in every palm of our homeland, while NATO planes hit the targets of the military and police forces of Serbia and Milosevic’s Yugoslavia. But on the morning of April 30, when the Serbian forces attacked the villages of Shtutica, Vërbovc, Baksi and the surrounding areas, there was a large number of people who at that time had come from other villages to take shelter in the Vërbovc area, said Prime Minister Kurti.
Prime Minister Kurti, after the tributes in Marina and the unveiling of the commemorative plaque in the village of Shtutica in the municipality of Drenas, paid tributes and placed fresh flowers at the martyrs’ cemeteries in Verbovc in the municipality of Drenas.
Prime Minister Kurti’s full speech:
Honorable director of the Agency of Memorial Complexes Mr. Bislim Zogaj,
Honorable deputy mayor of Drenas municipality, Mr. Arben Shala,
Honorable Minister of Defense, Mr. Armend Mehaj,
Honorable Chair of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Mr. Memli Krasniqi,
Honorable Deputy of the Assembly of the Republic, Visar Korenica,
Honorable Ferat Shala, activists of the national issue, war veterans of the Kosovo Liberation Army, invalids, families of heroes and martyrs, deputy Valon Ramadani,
Sisters and brothers,
Ladies and gentleman,
The massacres carried out at the end of April in Drenica, Vërbovc and Shtutica were carried out immediately after NATO bombed the iron-nickel plant in which the forces of the genocidal regime of Milosevic were stationed.
In the area of Vërbovc and Shtutica in Drenica during the April 30 offensive, dozens of Albanians who loved their land and wanted to live free and in peace, remain dead. The village of Shtutica was also attacked in the early morning of April 30. Shtutica had been attacked once on March 20, when its residents were forced to move for a week to Qirez.
In early April, also during a two-day police offensive, villagers were evicted from their homes. The greatest atrocities committed in the period March – June 1999, in the villages of Izbica, Rezalle, Poklek and Çikatova e Vjetër, while in the Area of Vërbovc, Shtutica and Baksi, the main offensive followed the NATO bombing of the Feronikeli plant, that is on April 29.
The Kosovo Liberation Army acted to liberate Kosovo on the ground in every palm of our homeland, while NATO planes hit the targets of the military and police forces of Serbia and Milosevic’s Yugoslavia. But on the morning of April 30, when the Serbian forces attacked the villages of Shtutica, Vërbovc, Baksi and the surrounding areas, there was a large number of people who at that time had come from other villages to take shelter in the Vërbovc area.
The attack on April 30 in Vërbovc began at dawn between 5 and 7 am, after the village was surrounded from all sides. The offensive continued until 16:00, that is, until 4:00 in the afternoon. They fired tanks and mortars. The large number of murders occurred in what is called the “Lugina e pyllëzuar”. About 100 Albanian men were killed and more than 200 were imprisoned during the operation. The prisoners were taken to the destroyed mosque near Qirez, and kept there all night, and tortured. The next day, they were loaded into a truck to take them to the prisons of Drenas and Lipjan.
Some of the trucks stopped at the Shavarina mine near Çikatova e Vjetër, about 100 men got off the trucks and were shot there in the most cruel way. The survivors were called to Drenas when they were interrogated and beaten for five consecutive days. The total number of killed exceeded more than 200, it is even said to be close to 300, and the most accurate figure that is mentioned is 274.
I am coming here after visiting Marina, where today we remember the 24th anniversary of the heroic fall of Commander Ilaz Kodra, who fell in a fierce and direct battle with the Serbian forces, three days before he turned 33.
Glory to commander Ilaz Kodra, glory to all heroes and martyrs of the Albanian nation!
Thank you!
Last modified: May 3, 2023