The Massacre of Ura Vajgurore occurred on 17 June 1997 in the town of

Ura Vajgurore Ura Vajgurore, formerly known as Ura e Hasan Beut, is a town and a former municipality in Berat County, central Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it was merged with the former municipalities (now municipal units) Cukalat, Kutalli and P ...

Berat County Berat County (; sq, Qarku Berat, italic=unset), officially the County of Berat ( sq, Qarku i Beratit, italic=unset), is a Counties of Albania, county in the Southern Albania, Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the ninth largest by ...

, during the

Albanian Civil War The Albanian Civil War in 1997 was sparked by pyramid scheme failures in Albania soon after its transition to a market economy. The government was toppled and more than 2,000 people were killed. Various other sources also describe the violenc ...

. Five people were killed and six wounded, all police officers.

Event

The armed clash started at 11:55 the morning, after many election rallies of political parties. That day, in this town were Fatos Nano, chairman of the

Socialist Party of Albania The Socialist Party of Albania ( sq, Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë, PS or PSSh) is a social-democratic political party in Albania. It has been described as centre-left, to left-wing. It was founded on 13 June 1991. The PS is an associate of t ...

at the time, accompanied by Skender Gjinushi, while the municipality Poshnje

Democratic Party of Albania The Democratic Party of Albania ( sq, Partia Demokratike e Shqipërisë, PD or PDSH) is a conservatism in Albania, conservative list of political parties in Albania, political party in Albania. It has been the largest opposition party in the c ...

represented in the late rally

Azem Hajdari Azem Shpend Hajdari (, March 11, 1963 – September 12, 1998) was the leader of the student movement in 1990–1991 that led to the fall of communism in Albania. He then became a politician of the Democratic Party of Albania (DP). He symbolizes t ...

and Genc Pollo. After the two rallies, the

escort was removed and after it came Fatos Nano and Skender Gjinushi and members of other supporters of this party. At the time, gangs control the city, after the opening of the military depots.

leaders after the rally in

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located in th ...

had left the city to continue the path toward

Fier Fier (; sq-definite, Fieri) is the seventh most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Fier County and Fier Municipality. It is situated on the bank of Gjanica River in the Myzeqe Plain between the Seman in the north, the Vjos ...

. Escort that accompanied the

leader, arrived at the Bridge Vajgurore, when a teenager shot to the cluster of Protoduarëve guards who said they were supporting the Democratic Party. Located on the roof of the villa, Protoduarëve guards killed a 17-year-old. Part of the escort, he could pass the villa went to

and received large reinforcements arms ammunition and men. While the rest remained behind, gathered in the square before the fuel-watchers. Some people kidnapped a police armored car, threatening blue uniforms and under the orders of civilian police Blindi left on Protoduarëve villas. Villa guards were forced to shoot the tank with shell antitanku, without knowing that inside it was still policemen. Two of the officers, Miltiadh Koçi and Arjan Shemuni were burned inside tank, the other two Selami Aslan and Ilia Bano were killed by the flames went out Blindi. On the other hand, the guards of the villa, situated between two fires, could be withdrawn, but not all. One of them was detained prisoner by opponents and executed. His body was then tied a cars, with which creep up in Berat, where it burned. Witnesses have indicated that the protagonists of this

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

, but also other serious events, were supporters of the two main parties in the country, the

and

Casualties and sentencing

The following people were killed: *Miltiadh Koçi, police officer *Arjan Shemuni, police officer *Asllan Selami, police officer *Ilia Bano, police officer *Guard of the Protoduarëve Vila, unidentified The following people were injured: *Thimi Tanku, police officer *Ylli Dhamo, police officer *Neim Gjeroveni, police officer *Ëngjëllush Pasha, police officer *Arben Bega, police officer *Shkëlqim Selfo, police officer The following people were sentenced: *Musa Protoduari, life imprisonment *Shkëlqim Protoduari, life imprisonment *Fran Marashi, life imprisonment *Fatbardha Protoduari, life imprisonment, wife of Musa Protoduari *Sokol Ndreu 30 years imprisonment *Gjovalin Ndreu 25 years imprisonment *Preng Miri 20 years imprisonment *Gjelosh Miri 20 years imprisonment

Event

Casualties and sentencing

See also

References

Further reading