Ambush near Suva Reka

The Ambush near Suva Reka (Serbian: Zaseda kod Suve Reke) was an incident that occurred during the Kosovo War when members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) ambushed a MUP convoy,^[1] killing three Serbian policemen near the village of Duhël, close to Suva Reka.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The three Serbian policemen were blown up by a rocket-propelled grenade that exploded on impact with their squad car.^[2][6]

Ambush near Suva Reka
Part of the Kosovo War
Date 8 January 1999 Location Suva Reka, FR Yugoslavia Result KLA victory
Belligerents
Kosovo Liberation Army	Serbian police
Casualties and losses
3 wounded	3 killed 4 wounded
2 civilians seriously wounded

Background

The result of the ambush was due to Yugoslav troops shelling the village of Sllapuzhan.^[6]

Incident

On 8 January 1999, the KLA led an ambush of a convoy of Yugoslav troops. In the incident, 4 policemen and 2 civilians were seriously wounded after a fierce firefight.^[6]

Aftermath

The KLA followed up the ambush with another attack on a Serbian police patrol near the village of Slivovë, killing one police officer. The village of Reçak served as the staging area for these ambushes, resulting in a significant buildup of Yugoslav Army forces and subsequent massacre on the village.^[5]

References

1. "House of Commons - Foreign Affairs - Minutes of Evidence". parliament.uk.
2. "Kosovo grenade ambush kills Serb policemen". Irish Independent.
3. "USAID/OFDA Kosovo Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) Update January 11, 1999 - Albania | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. January 11, 1999.
4. "OHR BiH TV News Summary, 8 January 1999". Office of the High Representative.
5. Aertsen, Ivo; Arsovska, Jane; Vanspauwen, Kris; Valiñas, Marta; Rohne, Holger (2013). Restoring Justice After Large-scale Violent Conflicts - Kosovo, DR Congo and the Israeli-Palestinian Case. Willian Publishing. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-1-84392-302-2.
6. "Kosovo rebels kill 3 Serbs". The Associated Press. 9 January 1999. p. 1.