Adem Jashari

Who was Adem Jashari?

Adem Jashari was one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, a Kosovo Albanian irredentist organization which fought for the separation of Kosovo from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the 1990s.

Beginning in 1991, Jashari participated in attacks against the Serbian police before travelling to Albania to receive military training. Arrested in 1993, he was released at the behest of the Albanian Army and later returned to Kosovo, where he continued launching attacks against the Serbian establishment. In July 1997, he was convicted of terrorism in absentia by a Yugoslav court. After several unsuccessful attempts to capture or kill him, Serbian forces launched an attack against Jashari's home in Prekaz in March 1998. The battle that followed resulted in the deaths of fifty-eight Kosovo Albanians, including that of Jashari and his wife and son.

Seen as the "father of the KLA", Jashari is considered a symbol of Kosovan independence by ethnic Albanians. He was posthumously awarded with the title "Hero of Kosovo" following the disputed territory's declaration of independence in 2008. The National Theatre in Pristina and Pristina International Airport have been named after him.