Elez Isufi
Elez Isufi Ndreu | |
|---|---|
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| Personal details | |
| Born | Elez Isufi Ndreu 1861 Sllove, Albania |
| Died | 30 December 1924 Peshkopi, Albania |
| Cause of death | Killed in Action |
| Awards |  Military Merit Cross |
Elez Isufi was an Albanian nationalist and military leader known for his role in the resistance against the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia) in 1920 in which he led his forces in battles to protect Albanian communities from being taken over. He was born in the year 1861 in Sllove, Dibra but he was originally from Sorica. Together with other leaders of the villages he was from, such as Dine Maqellara, Suf Xhelili, Sadulla Strazimiri and Nazif Grazhdani, he participated in the insurrectionary movements of 1909-1912. Then he was part of the forces against the Serbian occupation of Dibra.
WW1
[edit]During the First World War, when Dibra was part of the Austro-Hungarian occupation-administration, he was called with other members of the leadership of these territories to Vienna. He was decorated by Emperor Franz Joseph with the Military Merit Cross (Kriegsdekoration). In collaboration with Bajram Curri, he launched an uprising against the Yugoslav authorities of Dibra on August 15, 1921, a movement that continued until December.
Anti-Government Uprisings (1922)
[edit]He took part in the anti-government uprising of March 1, 1922, where Major Meleq Frashëri faced the state forces and was later killed. They were then deployed after encountering the forces commanded by Prenk Pervizi, and were repulsed with the intervention of the British consul in Durrës, Eyres. The Minister of the Interior, who directed the defense from above, Ahmet Zogu and Elez Isufi parted by shaking hands. He was sentenced to death by a military trial along with other insurgents, but later amnestied.
June Revolution
[edit]He participated in the June Revolution and then supported the government of Fan Noli. He was injured in the exchange fire with the legalist forces at the Peshkopia barracks on December 26, 1924. He died on December 30, 1924.
References
[edit]1. https://www.amazon.com/Albanians-Modern-History-Library-Nations/dp/185065531X