14.06.2022.
President Vučić lays wreath at Monument to Heroes of Košare
The President of the Republic and the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, has laid a wreath today at the Monument to the Heroes of Košare, who defended the state border 23 years ago and prevented the terrorist KLA from invading Serbia by land from the direction of Albania.
President Vučić laid a wreath as the Guard Orchestra was playing the national anthem, and then greeted the veterans of the Battle of Košare. Members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces also attended the wreath-laying ceremony.According to the President of the Republic, who addressed the veterans from the Battle of Košare, Serbia’s freedom was and remains the greatest value we strive for, and with heroes like these, we have nothing to worry about.
President Vučić said that today, after many years, the Battle of Košare was at least talked about and the deeds of the victims were remembered.
"Thank you for everything you have done for Serbia. Unlike before, the children in Serbia know about Košare today. They know what it means to guard, defend, and protect one’s country. They seem to understand better than me how important it is to love your country. Thank you for loving your country more than yourself. Serbia cannot and will not forget that," President Vučić emphasized.The President of the Republic of Serbia asked the veterans to give his warm regards to their families and the families of fallen soldiers and thank them for everything they had suffered and done for our country and our people.
The Monument to the Heroes of Košare was erected in 2020 in the park near the University Hospital Centre “Dr Dragiša Mišović”.
The names of 108 soldiers, non-commissioned officers, officers, reservists and volunteers, who died at the Košare outpost in 1999, are engraved on the pedestal.
The Battle of Košare began on 9 April 1999, when members of the terrorist KLA, with the help of the NATO air force, tried to invade Serbian territory by land, through the outpost on the Yugoslav-Albanian border in the Junik Mountains.The state border around the Košare outpost was defended by about 100 members of the 53rd Border Battalion, who opposed a ten times stronger enemy during the first two days of fighting.
A military police platoon soon arrived to help the frontier sentries, but the attack was violent and the KLA forces managed to take the positions of Rrasa e Koshares and Maja Glava, the points from which every movement towards the border line was controlled, and they also occupied the outpost building.
With the arrival of members of the 125th Motorized Brigade, a line of defence was formed, which prevented the enemy from entering further. In the following days, the army tried to regain Rrasa e Koshares and Maja Glava, and members of the 72nd Special and 63rd Parachute Brigades joined them.The fighting in Košare lasted until 14 June 1999, when the Yugoslav Army withdrew from Kosovo and Metohija following the Kumanovo Agreement.
Source: Tanjug
