"The Albanians didn't do it" - How Miloš Vlashković was killed in Mazgit by two Serbian soldiers while they were looting houses in 1999

A murder that occurred on June 16, 1999 in the village of Mazgit, near Obiliq, has returned to the spotlight after more than two decades.

Retired police officer Miloš Vlasković was killed with 16 bullets, while according to testimonies and investigative documents, two Yugoslav Army reservists are suspected of the crime, who have not yet faced justice.

A relative of Vlashkovic, who lives outside Serbia, told the portal Nova that the family initially suspected that the murder was committed by local Albanians, but it later emerged that the suspected perpetrators were members of the Yugoslav Army reserve forces.

According to his account, after the murder, the family received an unusual phone call from Albanians from the village of Mazgit, who swore on their lips that no Albanian resident had anything to do with the crime and that the victim's family could visit his grave whenever they wanted.

The event occurred just a week after the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement, at a time when the Yugoslav Army was withdrawing from Kosovo, while Albanian residents were gradually returning to their homes.

The village of Mazgit was almost empty that day when the fatal shots were heard.

According to the testimonies, two reservists stationed in the nearby village of Miloševo had gone out without permission and started robbing. During one of them, they encountered the two Shala brothers, who had gone to search their house. One of them asked for help from their neighbor, Miloš Vlashković.

Vlashkovic, dressed in civilian clothes and unarmed, entered the house and tried to stop the robbery. He was first hit with a gun, knocked to the bed, and then shot 16 times.

The perpetrators fled the scene, while the two Shala brothers survived.

The case was reported to the authorities and investigated by the War Crimes Department. Witnesses, including the Shala brothers, gave evidence via video link for fear of coming to Belgrade.

The suspects were identified as Zorana V. and Radoja R.

However, in 2015, the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office decided that the case was not within its jurisdiction and transferred it to the High Public Prosecution Office in Niš, which then forwarded it to the Kosovo Prosecutor's Office in Mitrovica.

The latter institution did not take concrete action and was subsequently abolished.

The War Crimes Prosecution confirmed to Nova.rs that the case was handed over to the Prosecution in Niš, while the latter clarified that the documentation was transferred to Mitrovica in 2016.

The victim's family members say the case is an example of a miscarriage of justice and that the suspected perpetrators continue to live free, despite evidence and their identification.

Vlashkovic, a former teacher and then an official in the analytical structures of the provincial police, had not actively participated in the fighting and was known as a respected neighbor.

According to his family, he was killed precisely because he tried to protect his Albanian neighbors from robbery and violence.

The Geo Post