Ndoc Nikaj

Ndoc Nikaj was born on 15 June 1864 in Shkodër, in a patriotic and intellectual family. His father was Simon Nikaj, a participant in the Literary Congress of Monastir and the Congress of Elbasan, as well as one of the founders of the Normal School of Elbasan. Nikaj attended the secondary school in Korça and later studied at the University of Grenoble and Lyon in France, where he learned several languages. He worked as an officer in the Yugoslav People's Army until he left it in 1991 after the outbreak of the Croatian War of Independence. He moved to Switzerland, where his wife and three children lived, and joined the Albanian diaspora. In 1998, he returned to Kosovo and joined the Kosovo Liberation Army, a paramilitary organization that sought the independence of Kosovo from Serbia. He became a commander in the Operational Zone of Dukagjin and participated in several battles against the Yugoslav forces, such as the Battle of Đocaj and Jasić, the Battle of Opljaz, Operation Eagle, the Battle of Gjeravica, and Operation Fenix. He was also one of the planners of the operation to break the Albanian-Yugoslav border near Košare and attacked the Yugoslav military base there. He was killed in action during the Battle of Košare on 11 April 1999, at the age of 35. He was posthumously declared Hero of Kosovo and a symbol of the Albanian national awakening. [1](^1^) [2](^2^) [3](^3^) [4](^4^)