| Paraćin massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | JNA Barracks "Branko Krsmanović" Paraćin, SR Serbia |
| Date | 3 September 1987 (CET) |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Injured | 5 |
| Perpetrator(s) | Aziz Kelmendi |
The Paraćin massacre(Serbo-Croatian: Paraćinski masakr, Serbian Cyrillic: Параћински масакр) was the murder of 4 people and injury of 5, in the military barracks in Paraćin, Yugoslavia on September 3, 1987 by Aziz Kelmendi, a 19-year old Kosovo Albanian, who was a conscript in the Yugoslav People's Army. Kelmendi shot an AK-47 in two sleeping rooms, then fled and committed suicide. The motive was Albanian nationalism.
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Aziz Kelmendi (Serbian: Azis Keljmendi, Азис Кељменди) was born on January 15, 1967 in Lipljan, SAP Kosovo, SR Serbia. His family lived in Dušanovo. He completed school in Prizren. In 1983 he was sentenced to prison for 15 days after trying to escape to Albania and after behaving nationalistic in high school and university. He disliked the learning of the Serbo-Croatian language. In 1984, he became a member of the Communist party. At the Faculty of Law at the University of Priština, he completed two semesters and passed six examinations with solid grades. After the completion of military drill in MP5300 in Leskovac, Serbia, he was moved to MP7518 in Paraćin.
He was described as a loner, he had complexes because he thought he was ugly, and was quite a nervous person. Sometimes he had aggressive reactions. He socialized mostly with ethnic Albanians and had strong nationalistic views. Kelmendi had two confrontations with Dudaković, one of the victims, prior to the massacre.
It took place in a compound of the Branko Krsmanović military barracks in the central-Serbian town of Paraćin, then in Yugoslavia.
At morning at dawn September 3, 1987, Kelmendi loaded his Automatic Zastava M70 rifle with 10 7.62x39mm rounds and headed to a guard post where corporal Riza Alibašić had stood on watch-duty. He took two rounds of ammunition and pointed his rifle at Alibašić, threatening to kill him. Kelmendi took him to the living facilities and asked where Dudaković was sleeping. After getting the information he required, he entered the sleeping quarters where he found Dudaković. He opened fire, killing him and then proceeded to kill Simić and Begić. He then went on to wound two others. Afterwards, he entered the second room and killed Dženanović and wounded two others. He then panicked and fled the military base and at around 8:00 AM he was found dead 1 kilometer from the base on Karađorđevo hill, where he committed suicide.
9 casualties resulted, of which 4 died:
The investigation discovered that 8 people had "helped" Kelmendi through encouraging the act and will of Kelmendi. 8 men were accused as accomplices (imprisonment in years):
It was revealed that Rizah Xhakli had said to the others that they had to help Kelmendi because, "he would be seen as a hero and a statue would be erected in Prizren". On September 2, at 9:00 PM, Kelmendi met with his accomplices and they decided that the massacre should be carried out the following day. Rizah Xhakli woke only the Albanians in the rooms prior to the attack and instructed them to leave and then gave Kelmendi ammunition. While being interogated, they all said that Kelmendi had strong nationalistic views of an Albanian Kosovo