Ahmet Delia (1850-1913) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

freedom fighter and member of the

League of Prizren The League of Prizren ( sq, Besëlidhja e Prizrenit), officially the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation ( sq, Lidhja për mbrojtjen e të drejtave te kombit Shqiptar), was an Albanian political organization which was offi ...

during the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( sq, Rilindja or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political and social movement in the Albanian history where the ...

. Born in

Drenica Drenica ( al, Drenicë, Drenica, ), also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering roughly around of Kosovo's total area (6%). It consists of two municipalities, Drenas and Skenderaj, and several villages in Klin ...

, Prekaz (back then

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

) his father, Deli Prekazi, was one of the founders of the League. Ahmet Delia became active early during the Albanian war of resistance against the invading

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

army in 1912. Ahmet Delia became one of the most important figures of the Albanian struggle for freedom when he defended a house in Prekaz that was being attacked by Serb forces in 1912. A group of 13 Serb soldiers had entered the village and begun looting, burning and killing Albanian civilians. Ahmet Delia, aged 63 at the time, spotted the soldiers as they forced the neighbor Halil and his family on the yard. When Delia heard the women and children crying he decided to take action and approached the house. He called on his son Mursel and the village chieftain, Rame Islami, and together they approached the soldiers. Delia lacked proper weapons and armed himself with an axe whilst the other two took up spades. When Delia entered the yard the other two blocked the door, cutting off the Serb soldiers and allowing Delia to fatally wound the vanguard. The Serb soldiers, alarmed by the sudden ambush, decided to try and surround Delia only to be ambushed by Mursel in turn, killing them and arming himself with their rifles which he then turned on the rest of the unit. Delia continued to swing his axe against the Serb soldiers whilst Mursel and Rame overran those that converged on Delia. One soldier managed to shoot Delia, injuring him, but was almost immediately overpowered by Mursel who choked the soldier to death. The fight ended with 12 dead Serbian soldiers leaving only Jovan Radosavljevic as the sole survivor of the unit, who attempted to flee but was captured by Rame shortly afterwards. Delia spared Jovan's life and ordered the release of the soldier to deliver a message to then king of Serbia, Petar Karađorđević, of the fate that awaited anyone attempting to occupy Albanian lands. Delia succumbed to his injuries hours later and the village was repeatedly attacked later that year. During the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

of 1998,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n forces burned down the majority of the village.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delia, Ahmet 1850 births 1913 deaths Kosovo Albanians Activists of the Albanian National Awakening Military personnel from Skenderaj