Attacks on Lučane

The Attacks on Lučane were a series of attacks between the JSO and the UÇPMB during the Insurgency in the Presevo Valley. The offensive began due to the village of Lučane being a strategic point, located close to Bujanovac. It was also one of the main strongholds of the UÇPMB. This was brought to the attention of Yugoslav forces, which sent their special units (JSO) to conduct an offensive against the militants in Lučane. After some fighting, the unit forced Albanian militants to withdraw from the area, and therefore gaining a stragetic point for further fighting.^[1][2]

In a report of the Srna News Agency, JSO members located in the Bujanovac-Gnjilane road had said that, in recent days, "they did not leave their positions and left Lučane to members of the so-called Liberation Army of Presevo, Medveđa and Bujanovac". Since the first day of the incoming military incursion from Kosovo, JSO forces claim to have been located in their positions on the demilitarized zone, which were located 20m away from the 5km of the seperation zone which was agreed upon. The upcoming night was expected to be restless, because "there were well-founded suspicions, reported by Albanian natives, that militans from the ranks of the UÇPMB will start a series of provocations in order to provoke the movements of members of the JSO in the direction of the administrative border".

During the following nights of the attacks, there were many minor incidents recorded in the area, because JSO forces had fired automatic weapons from the nearby areas onto the direction of the administrative border. According to this source, the only road to Kosovo from this area, including traffic, was the Bujanovac-Lučane-Končulj-Gnjilane zone. The roads located on the surrounding Albanian villages were mined. JSO members claimed that there were several strong detonations on local roads due to anti-tank mines being activated. These mines were located on the road from the Administrative Border-Lučane-Kosovska Kamenica. In Lučane, there were no visible signs of homes being set on fire or conflict happening within buildings.^[3] A television team located on the scene, reported that the Serbian special units recaptured Lučane due to the death of four police officers, following the withdrawal of the units from the area during the previous week. The JSO encountered no resistance when entering Lučane, but shootings and explosions were heard nearby.

In an interview for Reuters, a policeman who participated on the operation, had said that the special units did not enter the buffer zone, which they were prohibited from entering due to the Kumanovo Agreement. He stated, "The police did not enter the buffer zone. We regained control without any problems."^[4][3] After the offensive, both sides of the conflict admitted that Lučane had fallen to the hands of the JSO.^[1][2] Shortly after, ethnic Albanians fled the village from fear of being attacked by Serbian forces.^[4][3]