May 21 marks 27 years since the heroic fall of Myrtë Zeneli, one of the most resolute fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the Dukagjin region.
Born on October 11, 1962, in the village of Shqiponjë (formerly Jabllanicë), Zeneli completed his elementary education in Zhebel and secondary school in Gjakova. He was actively involved in the 1989–1990 demonstrations, consistently placing himself at the forefront of the resistance movement.
In October 1995, Zeneli joined the first clandestine groups of the KLA in Dukagjin. By April 1998, the zone command had appointed him as a commander in the Dushkaja assault unit, where he would lead operations in Suka e Cërmjanit, Kralan, Jabllanicë, Qeskovë, and other flashpoints.
One of the most critical battles occurred in Këpuz in May 1998, where Zeneli, along with Agim Zeneli, Naser Brahimaj, Alush Agushi, and many others, engaged Serbian police and military forces in direct combat. This confrontation became legendary, especially due to the shooting down of a Serbian military helicopter (“Kobra” type) — marking the first aerial victory by Dukagjin fighters against Serbian air forces.
On May 21, 1998, during intense clashes near Qafa e Dollovës, Zeneli and his comrades — including Xhelal Hajda, Fadil Nimani, and others — faced overwhelming Serbian reinforcements. Despite relentless shelling and artillery fire, Zeneli refused to abandon the KLA’s strategic positions. It was in this fight that he fell as a martyr, remembered as one of Dukagjin’s bravest and most unyielding warriors.
In July 1998, during the restructuring of the KLA, the 132nd Brigade of the Dukagjin Operational Zone was named in his honor — a brigade commanded by Ramush Haradinaj, further immortalizing Zeneli’s legacy in the fight for Kosovo’s freedom.
