Pristina – On the morning of 30 December 1991, attempting to capture or kill him, Serbian police surrounded Adem Jashari and his older brother, Hamëz, at their home in Prekaz.

In the ensuing siege, large numbers of Kosovo Albanians flocked to Prekaz, forcing the Serbs to withdraw from the village.

However the resistance at the home of Jashari’s, in Kosovo’s newest history, strongly warned about the emerging of a high national, political and military organization for liberation.
Adem Jashari (28 November 1955 – 7 March 1998) was one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a Kosovo Albanian organization which fought against the Serbian forces occupation of Kosovo during the 1990s. Beginning in 1991, Jashari participated in attacks against the Serbian police before travelling to Albania to receive military training.

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 58 members of Jashari’s family, including that of Jashari and his wife and son.
Seen as the “father of the KLA”, Jashari is considered a symbol of Kosovar independence. He was posthumously awarded with the title “Hero of Kosovo” (Kosovo Hero) following the declaration of independence in 2008. The National Theatre in Prishtina and Prishtina International Airport has been named after him.