Tahir Sinani (25 May 1964 – 29 July 2001) was one of the commanders for 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 ...

(KLA) and National Liberation Army (NLA).

Biography

Sinani was born in the village of Gri, near the town of

Bujan Bujan is a village and a former municipality in the Kukës County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Tropojë. The population at the 2023 census was 1,738. It is part of the Highl ...

within the

Highlands of Gjakova The Highlands of Gjakova or Gjakova Highlands (), known colloquially as ''Tropoja'', refers to the mountainous ethnographic region in the eastern Albanian Alps that sits between north-eastern Albania and western Kosovo, serving as the historical ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

on 25 May 1964. During 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 ...

, he was the commander of the Paštrik Operational Zone, which comprised areas near the cities of

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

and

Gjakova Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...

. Around this time, he took part in the

Battle of Paštrik The Battle of Pashtrik ( sr-cyrl, Битка на Паштрику, Bitka na Paštriku, ) was a two-week confrontation between the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA with NATO's support against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999, during the K ...

where he commanded the 122nd Brigade. After the war, he was appointed the commander for the Third Operational Zone of the

Kosovo Protection Corps The Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC; , TMK) was a civilian emergency services organization in Kosovo active from 1999 until 2009. The KPC was created on 1999, through the promulgation of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo ...

, however he would also be involved in 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 ...

. During the

2001 insurgency in Macedonia The 2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia was an armed conflict which began when the ethnic Albanians in North Macedonia, Albanian National Liberation Army (North Macedonia), National Liberation Army (NLA) insurgent group, formed from veter ...

, he was the commander of the 116th Brigade of the NLA. On 16 July 2001, Sinani was added to the list of terrorists by the European Union and later on Macedonia's list of terrorists on 27 July 2001.

Death

On 29 July 2001, along with four other fighters, an accidental explosion occurred which led to the deaths of all five including Sinani at an ammunition depot near

Gostivar Gostivar ( ; sq-definite, Gostivari) is a city in North Macedonia, located in the upper Polog valley region. It is the seat of one of the larger municipalities in the country with a population of 59,770, and the town also covers . Gostivar has ...

. On 24 May 2002, he was buried in the Martyrs' Cemetery in Landovica,

References

Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers National Liberation Army (Macedonia) soldiers 1964 births 2001 deaths 2001 insurgency in Macedonia People from Tropojë Albanian nationalists {{Albania-bio-stub

Biography

Death

See also

References