The attack on the Jashari family compound in Prekaz

Rows of white graves in a memorial complex with hills in the background — A view of the memorial complex in Prekaz with rows of white graves.Photo: KushtrimHoti7 (përdorues i Wikimedia Commons) · Fotoja: 21 korrik 2025 · CC BY 4.0

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On 22 January 1998 police had already attacked Shaban Jashari's compound; according to Adem Jashari's account to the Humanitarian Law Center, the attack was repelled when armed supporters arrived. The Serbian Interior Ministry described that incident as “a shoot-out between local gangs” [1]. HRW also notes that Adem Jashari had been convicted in absentia on 11 July 1997 for “terrorist acts” in a trial that failed to meet international standards.

For the March attack, HRW estimates some 58 Albanians killed, including 18 women; Amnesty International counted 56 bodies buried on 11 March and the Humanitarian Law Center at least 55. Police buried the dead with a bulldozer on 10 March without autopsies; relatives reburied them on 11 March. HRW adds that the number and identities of the dead “vary slightly” between sources [1] [2].

The Serbian authorities said the operations targeted “terrorists” and denied wrongdoing. The attacks on Likoshan, Qirez and Prekaz — 83 people killed in total according to HRW — became a turning point in the escalation of the conflict [2] [3].

This point is disputed. The number varies by source (HRW about 58; Amnesty International 56 buried; HLC at least 55) because of burial without autopsies. Serbian authorities said they were targeting “terrorists”.

Photographs

House façade pocked with bullet holes, surrounded by protective metal scaffolding. — The house in the Adem Jashari Memorial Complex in Prekaz in which Adem Jashari and more than 60 other people were killed in the 1998 attack on Prekaz. Photograph taken in January 2013.Photo: Bdx · 2013-01-26 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Wide view of the memorial complex with rows of white graves, lawns and a red-and-black flag. — The Jashari Neighbourhood Memorial Complex in Prekaz, a cultural heritage monument. Photograph taken in July 2025.Photo: KushtrimHoti7 · 2025-07-21 · CC BY 4.0

Damaged house enclosed in protective scaffolding, with an Albanian flag and a portrait panel; flowers in the foreground. — The Adem Jashari Memorial Complex in the Jashari neighbourhood of Prekaz, a cultural heritage monument, photographed on 21 July 2025.Photo: KushtrimHoti7 · 2025-07-21 · CC BY 4.0

Two damaged houses surrounded by scaffolding with an Albanian flag above. — The Jashari family houses in Prekaz, preserved under scaffolding as part of the memorial, August 2005.Photo: Dave Proffer · 2005-08-27 · CC BY 2.0

House walls riddled with bullet and shell holes, with stairs and scaffolding. — Part of the Jashari family house complex in Prekaz, photographed in September 2014.Photo: GentiBehramaj · 2014-09-19 · CC BY-SA 4.0

How do we know this?

The Serbian police attack on Prekaz on 5–7 March 1998 killed about 55–58 people, most of the extended Jashari family, including women and children.
Evidence status: Documented. Supported by contemporaneous documents, institutional reports or independent studies that corroborate one another.Last reviewed: 16 September 2026
The number varies by source (HRW about 58; Amnesty International 56 buried; HLC at least 55) because of burial without autopsies. Serbian authorities said they were targeting “terrorists”.
- Human Rights Watch, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Humanitarian Law Violations in Kosovo, 1998
- Fred Abrahams, Benjamin Ward, Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo, 2001

Sources

Editorial status: Awaiting verificationDrafted from the cited sources; not yet fully reviewed by the editors.

Last reviewed: 16 September 2026

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