Arben Sadik Ramadani (13 June 1981 – 19 May 2000) was one of the commanders of the

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

militant group

Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac The Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (LAPMB; , UÇPMB; , OVPMB) was an Albanian militant insurgent group fighting for separation from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for three municipalities: Preševo, Medveđa, and Bujanov ...

(UÇPMB). During the

insurgency in the Preševo Valley The insurgency in the Preševo Valley was an approximately two year-long armed conflict between 1999 and 2001, between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the ethnic Albanian separatists of the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Buj ...

, he was one of the commanders of the 113th "Ibrahim Fejzullahu" Brigade.

Biography

Ramadani was born on 13 June 1981 in Kokaj,

Gjilan Gjilan ( sq-definite, Gjilani) or Gnjilane ( sr-Cyrl, Гњилане) is the third most populous city in Kosovo and it serves as both a municipality and the administrative center of the District of Gjilan, Gjilan District. According to the 2024 ...

. He was the second out of the six children of the Ramadani family. In 1998, Ramadani, along with his uncle's son, Ibrahim Fejzullahu, joined the

Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an Albanians, ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Republic of Serbia (1992–2006), Republic of R ...

. In March 1999, together with Agron Fejzullahu and Besim Mustafa, they joined the group again to fight in the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

. In 2000 Ramadani joined the UÇPMB. On 19 May, Ramadani was wounded in the shoulder by a gunshot fired from Serbian Police near the

Ground Safety Zone The Ground Safety Zone (; ) was a 5-kilometre-wide (3.1 mi) demilitarized zone (DMZ) established in June 1999 after the signing of the Kumanovo agreement which ended the Kosovo War. It bordered the area between Yugoslavia (FRY) and Kosovo ( gov ...

in the

Preševo Valley The Preševo Valley (; ) is a geopolitical region in southern Serbia, along the border with Kosovo. The valley geographically includes municipalities of Bujanovac and Preševo, and politically also Medveđa. It is home to most of the Albanian ...

Death

On 20 May, while he and the 113th "Ibrahim Fejzullahu" Brigade were crossing the border, Ramadani was shot twice in the chest by Serb snipers. He was taken to

Camp Bondsteel Camp Bondsteel is the operation headquarters of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Kosovo. It is located near Ferizaj in southeastern Kosovo. It is the Regional Command-East headed by the United States Army (U.S. Army) and it is supported by troops from ...

by a military helicopter for medical treatment, where he died due to internal bleeding. He was buried in his birthplace of Kokaj.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramadani, Arben 1981 births 2000 deaths Kosovo Albanians People from Gjilan Albanian nationalists in Kosovo Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac soldiers Deaths by firearm in Serbia