Bilall Dreshaj (1910–1987), better known as Biko, was an ethnic

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 ...

military leader in Kosovo and Novi Pazar in Yugoslavia. He was born in the village of Dreshaj, in the

Gllogoc Drenas, also known as Gllogoc or Glogovac, is a town and municipality in central Kosovo. As of the 2011 census, there were 6,143 people residing in Drenas and 58,531 in the municipality. History The municipality of Drenas was established be ...

region in Kosovo, the part of the Ottoman Empire. During World War II he fought in the

Battle for Novi Pazar The Battle of Novi Pazar was a battle fought between November and December 1941 during World War II, between the Chetniks and Albanian forces under Axis command in the city of Novi Pazar, Sandžak, in the German occupied Kingdom of Yugoslavia. D ...

against the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

s and the

Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

World War II

Bilall Dreshaj and his men were legalized to the occupier by Aćif Hadžiahmetović, Albanian

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to t ...

mayor of Novi Pazar, on October 2. On October 5 Dreshaj enter the city with noise and gunfire and put themselves under command of local authorities. During ethnic and religious fighting, Dreshaj and his gang burnt and plundered woman monastery Sopoćani. Most of the nuns escaped, one that was captured was brutally murdered. Billal Dreshaj with his brother Deko lead attack on villages of Gračane, Doljane and Zabrđe on November 2, which their troops burnt down, killing 11 Serbs in the action. Dreshaj brothers participated enthusiastically in violence against Serb community in Novi Pazar. During

Battle of Novi Pazar The Battle of Novi Pazar was a battle fought between November and December 1941 during World War II, between the Chetniks and Albanian forces under Axis command in the city of Novi Pazar, Sandžak, in the German occupied Kingdom of Yugoslavia. ...

, Dreshaj's men defended left wing of the main column. He was one of the main organisers of protests against arrival of Milan Nedić's troops in Novi Pazar during November 1942. Later in the war, Dreshaj became an officer in Hilfspolizei.

References

Sources

* 1910 births 1987 deaths Albanian collaborators with Fascist Italy Albanian collaborators with Nazi Germany Yugoslav collaborators with Fascist Italy Yugoslav collaborators with Nazi Germany {{Europe-mil-bio-stub