Vulnetari Vulnetari ( ) or Kosovars were a volunteer militia of Albanians from Kosovo set up in 1941 by Italian forces after the successful invasion of Yugoslavia . They served as an auxiliary force for civilian control and protection of villages . Some of the militia served as frontier guards under both Italian and German rule . The Vulnetari fought only in their own local areas , so they fought against both Partisans and Chetniks , " against whom they showed themselves skilled and determined fighters " . Independently , Vulnetari units often attacked ethnic Serbs and carried out raids against civilian targets . They burned down hundreds of Serbian and Montenegrin villages , killed many people , and carried out plundering campaigns both in Kosovo and Metohija and in neighboring regions . At the end of World War II , the militia was used to protect retreating German forces . After German forces retreated through Kosovo , members of the Vulnetari militia hid themselves in their villages . Name . The name of this unit is derived from Albanian word " Vulnetarë " ( volunteers ) , rendered in Serbian Cyryllic as " вулнетари " . History . During Invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941 Albanian volunteers put themselves at disposal of general Eberhard , the commander of German 60th Infantry division . The Vulnetari were mostly middle - aged Albanian peasants who lived at their homes and did not wear uniforms but only a black - red band around their arms . According to Smilja Avramov , in June 1941 massacres of the Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija took on an organized character as the Vulnetari were established . The commander of the Vulnetari from Rugova was Riz Umeri . Other commanders included Sali Barjaktar , Žuk Adžija and Sali Beba . Ram Alija , from Istok , commanded Vulnetari forces that burned Serbian villages and murdered people in Ibarski Kolašin and Metohija . During one attack , the forces of Bislim Bajgora , helped by Vulnetari from Drenica led by Idriz Redža , burned 22 villages and murdered 150 Serbs . In mid - July 1941 , communication was lost between the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia ( CK KPJ ) and the neighbouring party organizations in Montenegro and Serbia ; the regional committee of the KPJ for Kosovo and Metohija tried to reestablish communication on several occasions and began to move new fighters from their region into Montenegro and Serbia . In two attempts to reach Montenegro and reestablish communication with their Communist organization , more than 20 communists from Metohija were killed by the Vulnetari . Thousands of Vulnetari and gendarmes commanded by Bislim Bajgora and Šaban Poluža attacked Ibarski Kolašin on 30 September 1941 . This region was attacked by Vulnetari from Drenica and Methohija Podgor , and their brutal attacks on the villages of Ibarski Kolašin lasted until 10 October 1941 . This attack on Ibarski Kolašin was so violent that Nazi Germans referred to it as the " bloody wave " . On 14 October 1941 , Vulnetari forces crossed the Ceranje River and burned Serbian villages up to Lešak . On 15 October 1941 , Chetniks from Suva Planina attacked Vulnetari forces and inflicted heavy casualties on them , forcing them to retreat across the Ceranje River . The Chetniks entered Ceranje and burned Albanian houses . On the evening of 15 October , strong Vulnetari forces came from Šalja and forced the Chetniks to retreat during the night . On 16 October , the Chetniks again attacked the Vulnetari militia and forced them to retreat across the Ceranje River . After the battles on 14 and 15 October , all of the Serbian houses between Slatina and Lešak were burned . On 17 October 1941 , the village of Dobruša , near Peć , was attacked by Vulnetari forces consisting of militiamen from Istok , Drenica and Đakovica . The attack was organized by Dževat Begoli , the governor of Istok county . Defenders of the village managed to hold on for three days and left the village together with its population . Houses in Dobruša were then plundered and burned down . On 30 January 1943 , the Vulnetari militia captured the village of Grbole and terrorized the residents . At the end of autumn , they expelled the villagers , plundered their houses , and burned them down . Homesteads of Slav population were routinely sacked by the Vulnetari . Avdilj Dura , from the village of Dure , near Kačanik , became the commander of 5 , 000 Vulnetari after the Bulgarian capitulation in September 1944 . Victims . According to Serb authors Dusan Batakovic and Nenad Antonijevic the Vulnetari and other paramilitaries murdered 10 , 000 Serbs on Kosovo and Metohija . Vulnetari in Western Macedonia . Vulnetari were also set up in Western Macedonia . Five or six companies of between 1 , 200 and 1 , 500 vulnetari were set up in Debar . In region of Struga there were two companies of 800 Vulnetari commanded by Bekir aga and Tefik Vlasi . One company of 400 Vulnetari in Rostuše was led by Ali Maliči . The commander of Kičevo Vulnetari was Mefail while the commander of Gostivar Vulnetari was Xhem Hasa . Aftermath . Sali Rama , Žuk Adžija , and several outlaws under their command were arrested and sentenced to prison after World War II . Avdilj Dura surrendered in January 1945 together with about 100 outlaws under his command . Bislim Bajgora was killed in 1947 . In 2010 , the Macedonian Albanians political party New Democracy proposed for a monument of Xhem Hasa to be built in Gostivar . A monument of Hasa has already been built in his birthplace , village Simnica , in 2006 .