Hajla ( or ''Hajla''; sr-Cyrl, Хајла) is a mountain located between the borders of
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
and
Montenegro
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. It has several peaks that reach over , the tallest with a hight of . The northern slopes contains the spring formation of the
Ibar river, and to its southern slopes is the origin of the Bistrica e Pejës (or the Pećka Bistrica) river. Hajla is also the tallest mountain in the northern part of the
Accursed Mountains
The Accursed Mountains (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Prokletije, Проклетије, separator=" / ", ; both translated as "Cursed Mountains"), also known as the Albanian Alps (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Albanski Alpi, Албански Алпи, separator=" / ", li ...
of the Balkans. In Kosovo, Hajla forms part of the long
Rugova Canyon
Rugova Canyon (; , ''Rugovska klisura'') or Rugova Gorge () is a river canyon near Peja in western Kosovo. The canyon is located in the Albanian Alps, close to the border with Montenegro. With a length of and a depth up to 1,000 meters, Rugova ...
. The closest city to Hajla is
Rožaje
Rožaje ( Bosnian: ''Rožaje''; , ; , ) is a town located in the Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along the Ibar river. The town is the cultural center of the Bosniaks in Montenegro.
As of 2023, the town has a population of 13,608 inhabi ...
, in
Montenegro
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.
Highest peaks
*Hajla ()
*Hajla e Vëranocit ()
*
Maja Dramadol ()
*
Hajla e Shkrelit ()
History
Kosovo War
On 17 April 1999 the Yugoslav military began their offensive in the Rugova region. They would initially attempt to capture the village of Greater Shtupeç, where the 163rd "Rugova" brigade was located. On 18 April they reached Mt.Hajla which stood as a defense of Greater Shtupeç. The KLA positions were attacked by a stronger force. After some fighting, the first casualty of the 163rd Rugova brigade of the Kosovo War fell in battle, that being
Xhavit Lajçi. After further fighting the Yugoslav forces would advance in Hajla and would kill KLA fighter
Ramush Lajçi. General
Selman Lajçi and 2 other soldiers would go to pick up Ramush Lajçi's corpse but while doing this Selman Lajçi was shot and wounded fatally falling to the ground. His last words would be "Be careful" which he told his fellow soldiers which retreated back, as commander Selman Lajçi would die from his injury. On the 19th of April Yugoslav forces would continue pushing the KLA back in Hajla before they were brought to a stop by the KLA defensive positions. In the fierce firefight the Yugoslav army would injure general
Besnik Lajçi, who upon his injury would decide to make a last ditch sacrifice to win the battle, would charge at the Yugoslav forces taking advantage of the gunfire of his fellow fighters,
Salih Lajçi and
Imer Nikçi, going in-between Yugoslav lines leading to casualties on the Yugoslav side being in the dozens, before he would fall to his injuries. Upon seeing this, the Yugoslav forces retreated from Hajla.
See also
*
Vrelo Ibra
*
Ibar
Notes and references
Rožaje
Mountains of Montenegro
Mountains of Kosovo
Accursed Mountains
Two-thousanders of Kosovo
Two-thousanders of Montenegro
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