Bekim Berisha
Encyclopedia
Bekim Berisha was a Kosovo Albanian soldier who gained prominence in the Yugoslav Wars
. He served in the Croatian Army during the Croatian War of Independence
was later named a general
. He subsequently fought in the Bosnian Army, and later also in the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA). He was killed in 1999, during the battle of Junik
, and was posthumously promoted to Brigadier General
.
) as the youngest of six children of Fazli and Fahrije Berisha.
His grandfather Nexhip Selmani fought against the Serbian regime in Kosovo for decades.
After attending secondary school in Peja, Kosovo, he decided to go to SR Croatia
due to not being able to continue school in Kosovo. During his first period in Croatia, Bekim maintained mostly physical jobs to earn a living and send money back to the family in Kosovo. After a while, he also registered as a student in the Zagreb University studying as a veterinary. He finished his studies with success, also maintaining one of his favourite hobbies, military art and martial art. After a couple of years in Croatia, Bekim traveled abroad to the Netherlands where he got engaged and settled down.
amongst others, he later was moved to the special forces of the Croatian Army fighting in the front-lines against the JNA. During the Croatian War he was also interviewed by BBC where he declared that Croatia within only a couple of months would be free of Serbian soldiers as the war went very well. Only days later, the final Croatian offensive began and Bekim was one of the front-line soldiers.
He also took part in the Bosnian War
, during the battle of Kotorsko he was hit by six dumdum bullets on 15 June 1992. He was taken to a military hospital in Croatia and later returned to the front line once again. After the war he was granted the military rank of general within the Croatian Army.
valley and started organizing the defence of the region. He was the main consultant and commander in the area, handling education of the new soldiers and defensive and offensive strategies of the regions troops.
However, problems were bigger in the western part of Kosovo, his home region – the Dugagjini valley was in heavy pressure of the Serbian military. Together with his close friend and companion Bedri Shala, they traveled to Glogjan, a small town only minutes away from his native town of Graboc. They joined up with other KLA soldiers, amongst them Ramush Haradinaj
and his brothers and defended the village of Glogjan against heavy Serbian military attacks. During the Battle of Glogjan, Bekim Berisha was seen as one of the most important figures of the KLA, he was responsible for the logistics, the communication and the movement of the soldiers in and out of Glogjan.
The commander in chief of the Dugagjini Operative Zone, Ramush Haradinaj decided to place Bekim Berisha and Bedri Shala in the town of Junik
. This small town had a strategic importance to both the KLA and the Serbian side. It was one of the main KLA strongholds during the war, and largely thanks to Berisha and Shala Junik maintained it’s position as a KLA stronghold, not falling in the hands of the much better equipped Serbian military.
He demanded and worked for the re-organization of the KLA, he demanded that the KLA should switch strategy and go for the offence instead of locking itself up in Junik. During May 1998, the Serb forces after several attacks maintained it’s grip of Junik, the small town was surrounded from all four sides and shelled constantly by Serb artillery. During the heavy and bloody battle of Junik on 29 May 1998, his partner and closest friend, Bedri Shala was heavily wounded and taken back to the camp from the frontline. When Bekim got the news that Shala was dying, he went with only a couple of soldiers to the frontline on their own. Bekim Berisha and the small group consisting of Elton Zherka, Përmet Vula, Bashkim Lekaj and others started counter-attacking the Serbian tanks that had reached the southern part of Junik.
According to the surviving soldiers, Bekim Berisha was heavily touched by the death of Bedri Shala, unlike other battles, during this one Berisha maintained no radio contact with the central base, instead he settled down in a small house just meters from the Serbian tanks, shooting against them constantly with an RPG and his sniper rifle.
After hours of fighting, a Serbian tank neared the house and launched a heavy shelling against Berisha, blasting his right arm of his body and wounding him heavily.
Elton Zherka, Përmet Vula and Bashkim Lekaj fell on the same spot, Berisha was taken back to the camp by his soldiers and died the same day as his friend Bedri Shala. Only days after Berishas death, Junik fell into the hands of the Serbian military.
(KPC).
According to witnesses, the Croatian President Franjo Tudjman reportedly mourned the loss of Berisha, claiming he was “a one man army, that Croatia and Kosovo would be eternally proud of”.
His former General in Croatia, Janko Bobetko
also cried talking about Berisha during a documentary about Bekims life. Claiming he was “one of the best men and soldiers he has ever gotten in touch with”. “Bekim was really unique, I don’t think anyone in Croatia nor Kosova really known the value that he had to the Independence war against Serbia. You should be proud that he was a member of your nation”.
Several streets, schools and other institutions carry his name today in Kosovo.
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
. He served in the Croatian Army during the Croatian War of Independence
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
was later named a general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
. He subsequently fought in the Bosnian Army, and later also in the Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
(KLA). He was killed in 1999, during the battle of Junik
Junik
Junik is a municipality and small town in the Đakovica district of western Kosovo. It is located in the west Metohija between Dečani and Đakovica along Kosovo's mountainous border with Albania. It is populated with ethnic Albanians...
, and was posthumously promoted to Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
.
Early years
Bekim Berisha was born and raised in Graboc, outside of Peja (then AP Kosovo, SFR YugoslaviaSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
) as the youngest of six children of Fazli and Fahrije Berisha.
His grandfather Nexhip Selmani fought against the Serbian regime in Kosovo for decades.
After attending secondary school in Peja, Kosovo, he decided to go to SR Croatia
Socialist Republic of Croatia
Socialist Republic of Croatia was a sovereign constituent country of the second Yugoslavia. It came to existence during World War II, becoming a socialist state after the war, and was also renamed four times in its existence . It was the second largest republic in Yugoslavia by territory and...
due to not being able to continue school in Kosovo. During his first period in Croatia, Bekim maintained mostly physical jobs to earn a living and send money back to the family in Kosovo. After a while, he also registered as a student in the Zagreb University studying as a veterinary. He finished his studies with success, also maintaining one of his favourite hobbies, military art and martial art. After a couple of years in Croatia, Bekim traveled abroad to the Netherlands where he got engaged and settled down.
War in Croatia and Bosnia
During this time, the war came to Yugoslavia and when Croatia decided to break loose from the federation, Bekim didn't hesitate to join up with the Croatian army fighting against the Serbian one. He joined up as a voluntary soldier, leaving his life in the West behind him and came back to Croatia once again. Participating in the battles of VukovarVukovar
Vukovar is a city in eastern Croatia, and the biggest river port in Croatia located at the confluence of the Vuka river and the Danube. Vukovar is the center of the Vukovar-Syrmia County...
amongst others, he later was moved to the special forces of the Croatian Army fighting in the front-lines against the JNA. During the Croatian War he was also interviewed by BBC where he declared that Croatia within only a couple of months would be free of Serbian soldiers as the war went very well. Only days later, the final Croatian offensive began and Bekim was one of the front-line soldiers.
He also took part in the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
, during the battle of Kotorsko he was hit by six dumdum bullets on 15 June 1992. He was taken to a military hospital in Croatia and later returned to the front line once again. After the war he was granted the military rank of general within the Croatian Army.
Kosovo War
Only a couple of years later, Bekim’s long awaited dream finally came through, he would be able to use all his experience to help Kosovo reach what his companions in Croatia had. The ethnic Albanians of Kosovo started organizing themselves in military actions against the Serbian regime in Kosovo. Bekim was one of the main organizers behind the early attacks of the Kosovo Liberation Army. During early 1998 he illegally entered Kosovo from Albania with several other soldiers, settled themselves in Açarevë, a small town in the DrenicaDrenica
Drenica also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering . Located west of the capital Prishtina, its population of 110,000 is largely ethnic-Albanian....
valley and started organizing the defence of the region. He was the main consultant and commander in the area, handling education of the new soldiers and defensive and offensive strategies of the regions troops.
However, problems were bigger in the western part of Kosovo, his home region – the Dugagjini valley was in heavy pressure of the Serbian military. Together with his close friend and companion Bedri Shala, they traveled to Glogjan, a small town only minutes away from his native town of Graboc. They joined up with other KLA soldiers, amongst them Ramush Haradinaj
Ramush Haradinaj
Ramush Haradinaj is a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army and former prime minister of Kosovo. He leads the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and is among former KLA officers charged of war crimes during the 1999 Kosovo War by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...
and his brothers and defended the village of Glogjan against heavy Serbian military attacks. During the Battle of Glogjan, Bekim Berisha was seen as one of the most important figures of the KLA, he was responsible for the logistics, the communication and the movement of the soldiers in and out of Glogjan.
The commander in chief of the Dugagjini Operative Zone, Ramush Haradinaj decided to place Bekim Berisha and Bedri Shala in the town of Junik
Junik
Junik is a municipality and small town in the Đakovica district of western Kosovo. It is located in the west Metohija between Dečani and Đakovica along Kosovo's mountainous border with Albania. It is populated with ethnic Albanians...
. This small town had a strategic importance to both the KLA and the Serbian side. It was one of the main KLA strongholds during the war, and largely thanks to Berisha and Shala Junik maintained it’s position as a KLA stronghold, not falling in the hands of the much better equipped Serbian military.
He demanded and worked for the re-organization of the KLA, he demanded that the KLA should switch strategy and go for the offence instead of locking itself up in Junik. During May 1998, the Serb forces after several attacks maintained it’s grip of Junik, the small town was surrounded from all four sides and shelled constantly by Serb artillery. During the heavy and bloody battle of Junik on 29 May 1998, his partner and closest friend, Bedri Shala was heavily wounded and taken back to the camp from the frontline. When Bekim got the news that Shala was dying, he went with only a couple of soldiers to the frontline on their own. Bekim Berisha and the small group consisting of Elton Zherka, Përmet Vula, Bashkim Lekaj and others started counter-attacking the Serbian tanks that had reached the southern part of Junik.
According to the surviving soldiers, Bekim Berisha was heavily touched by the death of Bedri Shala, unlike other battles, during this one Berisha maintained no radio contact with the central base, instead he settled down in a small house just meters from the Serbian tanks, shooting against them constantly with an RPG and his sniper rifle.
After hours of fighting, a Serbian tank neared the house and launched a heavy shelling against Berisha, blasting his right arm of his body and wounding him heavily.
Elton Zherka, Përmet Vula and Bashkim Lekaj fell on the same spot, Berisha was taken back to the camp by his soldiers and died the same day as his friend Bedri Shala. Only days after Berishas death, Junik fell into the hands of the Serbian military.
Legacy
Berisha was buried in Junik, but later re-buried in his home town of Graboc, he was granded the military title and rank of Brigadier General by the Kosovo Protection CorpsKosovo Protection Corps
The Kosovo Protection Corps was a civilian emergency services organisation in Kosovo active from 1999 to 2009.The KPC was created on September 21, 1999 through the promulgation of UNMIK Regulation 1999/8 and the agreement of a "Statement of Principles" on the KPC's permitted role in Kosovo...
(KPC).
According to witnesses, the Croatian President Franjo Tudjman reportedly mourned the loss of Berisha, claiming he was “a one man army, that Croatia and Kosovo would be eternally proud of”.
His former General in Croatia, Janko Bobetko
Janko Bobetko
Janko Bobetko was a Croatian Army general and Chief of the General Staff during the Croatian War of Independence from 1992 until his retirement in 1995. Bobetko had been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia but died before he could be tried...
also cried talking about Berisha during a documentary about Bekims life. Claiming he was “one of the best men and soldiers he has ever gotten in touch with”. “Bekim was really unique, I don’t think anyone in Croatia nor Kosova really known the value that he had to the Independence war against Serbia. You should be proud that he was a member of your nation”.
Several streets, schools and other institutions carry his name today in Kosovo.