Battle of Košare The Battle of Košare ( ; ) was fought during the Kosovo War between the military forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on one side and the Kosovo Liberation Army ( UÇK ) on the other . The battle was fought around Rasa Koshares on the border between FR Yugoslavia and Albania from 9 April until 10 June during the NATO bombing of FR Yugoslavia . The point of the attack from the Albanian side was a land invasion of Kosovo and the cutting off of the communications of the Yugoslav Army between the forces in Prizren and Djakovica . Another goal was the taking of the region of Metohija . After days of heavy fighting , the Yugoslav Army kept the Kosovo Liberation Army from advancing into Kosovo . UÇK soldiers managed to take the Košare outpost following a massive artillery barrage by the Albanian Army and NATO bombardardment of strategic sites held by the Yugoslavs , but they failed to complete any of their strategic objectives and failed to drive the Yugoslav forces out of the area . Attack . On 9 April 1999 , at 03 : 00 , an artillery barrage began from the Albanian side of the border , aimed in the direction of the Košare military outpost , which was occupied by the Yugoslav Army . The Albanians attacked in three directions , the first was towards Rasa Košare , the second was towards the well - defended Košare outpost and the third was towards Maja Glava . During the artillery bombardment , approximately 1 , 500 UÇK militants reached the border unspotted . According to Serb sources , the Albanian gunners were assisted by the French Foreign Legion . At that time less than 200 members of the Yugoslav Army were stationed at the front line . Bloody fighting ensued and lasted the whole day with heavy losses on Serbian side . Later , the UÇK seized the peak of Rasa Košares and immediately began entrenching themselves . The battle continued all night until the next morning . Then , with massive artillery support , the UÇK took Maja Glava and continued to bombard the Košare Outpost , which resulted in the Yugoslav soldiers having to abandon their posts . At 19 : 00 , members of the UÇK entered the abandoned outpost and CNN and the British BBC broadcast images of a great number of UÇK militants taking the outpost . Members of the Yugoslav Army then retreated towards the second line of defense above the outpost . Those positions were much more easier to defend . The next day , Yugoslav reserve troops arrived to relieve the First Army . One batch of UÇK soldiers managed to cut the Yugoslav Army line of communications , and managed to damage one BOV vehicle . During the night , the UÇK attacked the Yugoslav Army at Opijaz , trying to shatter the resistance of the Yugoslav soldiers , but all of the attacks were unsuccessful and resulted in the Yugoslav Army inflicting some losses on the UÇK soldiers . The next day , the UÇK tried to break the resistance of the second defensive line of the Yugoslav Army , with little success . Meanwhile , the Yugoslavs managed to bring in their Special Forces and also a few artillery pieces . Reorganization of Yugoslav positions and counterattack . Albanian Army and UÇK artillery continued to shell the Yugoslav Army ' s positions from Maja Glava and Rasa Košares . The Yugoslav Army Headquarters decided to launch a sudden attack and surprise the enemy . On April 14 , Yugoslav troops attacked Maja Glava . The distance between the two enemy trenches wasn ' t longer than 50 meters . The Yugoslav Army was unable to take Maja Glava completely , but it prevented the Albanians ' artillery from engaging them from their positions . The Maja Glava front was stabilized until the end of the war , without any changes on the lines . In April , there weren ' t any changes on the front lines at Rasa Košares and both sides suffered heavy losses . Many Yugoslav soldiers were killed by the non - stop artillery bombardment , while many UÇK soldiers were killed in numerous unsuccessful attempts to break the Yugoslav lines of defense . May at Košare . May began with several unsuccessful attacks by the Yugoslav Army to take back the Košare outpost . The attacks were made unsuccessful because of the constant artillery fire aimed at their positions . On the 6th of May , the Yugoslav Army counterattacked at Rasa Košares , in an effort to halt the artillery bombardment . A bloody skirmish ensued , but the Yugoslav Army did not manage to take Rasa Košares . On 10 May , the Yugoslav Army sent two T - 55 tanks to help stabilize the offensive on Rasa Košares . When the tanks penetrated the UÇK ' s lines , they managed to gain over 100 meters of insurgent - held territory , but the UÇK still managed to retain control of Rasa Košares . During the night between the 10th and the 11th of May , NATO bombers dropped dozens of bombs on the Yugoslav troops who had attacked UÇK positions under Rasa Košares . In these attacks , NATO killed 8 Yugoslav soldiers and one officer and managed to wound over 40 . The UÇK seized the opportunity to attack and fought the Yugoslav soldiers out of their positions and forced them back . During the middle of May , many bloody skirmishes were fought at Mrcaj , which was eventually taken by the Yugoslav Army . After the Yugoslavs had inflicted some casualties on the insurgents , the UÇK had to retreat from their positions giving the Yugoslavs the chance to take the now undefended position . This development allowed the Yugoslav Army to stabilize their position on the battlefield and to hold the aggressors outside of their line of defense . On 22 May , NATO aircraft mistakenly bombed UÇK positions , killing 67 . The bloody battle of Košare lasted until the 10th of June , when the Yugoslavs agreed to withdraw from Kosovo . Aftermath . The Kosovo War lasted until 10 June . The Kumanovo Agreement was signed and the Yugoslav Army , paramilitaries and police - forces had to pull out of Kosovo . The KFOR entered Kosovo as a peacekeeping force . The UÇK was , under the terms of the Kumanovo Treaty , disarmed and disbanded , however some of its members left Kosovo to fight for an Albanian insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia and southeastern Serbia .