After laying the wreath, Aleksandar Vučić talked to the veterans of the Battle of Košare, who also laid the wreath at the monument, and thanked them for everything they did for the homeland.

“If we haven’t done anything else, at least today we can talk about those who died and your role,” Vucic shared that fact with the veterans.

He added that he would like to see them again around Vidovdan and to discuss everything in detail, so that they can see what else can be done for them, but, as he said, something that is real, and not what is not possible.

“But, when I see you, I get extra energy to fight for Serbia even harder with at least that little risk,” said Vucic, adding: “I thank you endlessly for the part you gave to Serbia and let’s try not to forget it together.”

We must not allow that, the fighters from Košar replied.

“Glory to all your fallen heroes. I wish you all the best, and now I am going to Brussels,” said Vucic.

Minister of Labor, Employment, Veterans’ Affairs and Social Affairs Darija Kisić Tepavčević also laid a wreath with the President

A monument to the heroes from Košar was erected last year in a park near the KBC “Dr Dragiša Mišović”.

On this day 22 years ago, the battle of Košare ended, during which members of the army of FR Yugoslavia defended the state border for 67 days and prevented the ground invasion of the terrorist KLA from Albania into the territory of Serbia.

The names of 108 soldiers, non-commissioned officers, officers, reservists and volunteers who died in 1999 at the Kosara watchtower are engraved on the pedestal.

The author of the monument, sculptor Misha Rogan, showed the act of heroism of officers and soldiers who gave their lives defending the homeland.

The battle began on April 9, 1999

The battle of Košare began on April 9, 1999, when members of the terrorist KLA, with the help of NATO aviation, tried to carry out a ground invasion through the watchtower on the watchtower on the Yugoslav-Albanian border in the Junički mountains.

The part of the state border around the Kosara watchtower was protected by about 100 members of the 53rd Border Battalion, who opposed a tenfold stronger enemy during the first two days of fighting.

A platoon of military police soon arrived to help the border guards, but the attack was violent and KLA forces managed to take the positions of Rasa Kosarez and Maja Glava, points from which every movement towards the border line was controlled, and they also occupied the watchtower building.

With the arrival of the members of the 125th Motorized Brigade, a line of defense was formed, which prevented further penetration of the enemy.

In the following days, the army tried to regain Rasa Kosarez and Maja Glava, and members of the 72nd Special and 63rd Parachute Brigades joined them.

The front line was stabilized, and the fighting did not abate.

The fighting in Košare lasted until June 14, 1999, when the Yugoslav Army withdrew from Kosovo and Metohija after the Kumanovo Agreement.

Family and friends have been holding the memory of the young member of the 125th Motorized Brigade for two decades, who is now immortalized through a mural in the Kragujevac settlement of Aerodrom.

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– Every year we go to his grave on the anniversary of his death, but also on his birthday. We do everything to keep him living through us and his mother and family that means a lot. We will never forget him or our other comrades who perished in the hell of Košar. We who survived bear indelible and immensely deep scars, Branislav Zekić, Saša’s war friend, told the Informer.

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They were, he says, like brothers and in the war they shared everything, slept next to each other until the fateful night when the aggressor bomb took Vasiljevic’s young life.

– He was really brave. He was always where the action was. He brought us all together with his fearless spirit and great charisma. A great guy, Zekić points out, a survivor of the Battle of Košare. Apart from those who fought on the then Yugoslav-Albanian border, the invisible heroes are their families and all those who loved them.

I’M DONE ANYWAY, BUT YOU WILL NOT DIE! The words of the hero who left the bones in the EPIC BATTLE ON THE BASKETS Echo! He bravely endured the pain, he didn’t let anyone scream …

KOSOVO IS NOT A PIECE OF EARTH, KOSOVO IS A PART OF THE SKY! Dejan Ivanović fighter of the famous “63rd parachute” hardened in the battles for Košare, OPENED his SOUL

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– The pain is great, but the honor is just as great. I feel that my heart will break again today, just like when my son died. I am not the only mother with this fate. Everyone who died in Kosovo and Metohija deserves all the honors, said Biljana Vasiljevic, Sasha’s mother, through tears.

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The unveiling ceremony was attended by family, friends, comrades-in-arms and the Red Devils, fans of Kragujevac’s Radnički, of which Sasa was a member. He went to the army immediately after high school, and he found himself in the horror of the Košare watchtower when he was less than twenty years old. In addition to him, six other citizens of Kragujevac laid down their lives in the same place, including one woman.

Photo: TP

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