Kosovo, Serbia Hold Rival Commemorations of Vital 1999 Battle

Hundreds of Kosovo Albanians and troops gathered on Sunday in the village of Koshare/Kosare to commemorate the anniversary of a key battle 24 years ago near the Kosovo-Albania border between the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA fighters and Yugoslav Army troops.

"Along with its size in terms of the fighting, troops and territorial reach, the Battle of Koshare is one of the largest and most important in our struggle for freedom," Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Facebook post commemorating the anniversary.

The battle started on April 9, 1999 when the KLA attacked a border post between Yugoslavia and Albania. It continued until June 10 that year, when Milosevic agreed to pull his forces out of Kosovo after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign intended to stop his campaign of repression against Kosovo Albanians.

The fighting saw the KLA seize control over strategic territory near the Albanian border, which enabled the guerrilla force to transport arms and troops from Albania to Kosovo as it fought against the Yugoslav regime led by Slobodan Milosevic.

Kurti said that after the war ended, the territory capture along the border also "physically unified Albanians" in Kosovo and Albania.

A total of 114 KLA fighters were killed in the battle; seven of them reportedly died in a mistakenly-targeted NATO air strike.

In a statement on Sunday, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said that the battle showed that "the sacrifice for freedom was very high, but freedom has no price".

According to Serbian data, 108 Yugoslav troops died during the battle.

The Serbian Defence Ministry marked the anniversary on Friday in Belgrade, with Defence Minister Milos Vucevic saying that no one who participated in the fighting in Koshare/Kosare...