The killing by the Serbs of Elez Isuf together with his nephew, after the betrayal of the Albanians

Where there were uprisings, there was Elez Isuf Ndreu. This is what happened in March 1912 against the Serbs in the Highlands of Dibra. This is what happened in November 1912 against the Serbs. This is what happened in December 1915 with the Serbian army, which reached Durrës. This is what happened in August 1920 against the Serbian army sent by Belgrade to eliminate him and his supporters. This is what happened in 1921 when Belarusian mercenaries in the Serbian army tried to kill him...

By: Roland Qafoku

In March 1922, Elez Isufi organized the first armed uprising against the Albanian government. He fought all battles head-on, until December 16, 1924 at 11.00:14 a.m., when Elez Isufi himself was killed in the back. It was an injury that caused his death 01.00 days later. At 30:XNUMX on December XNUMX of that year, he passed away in his bed in the tower.

THE SCENE OF THE MURDER

Although his sense of smell and intuition was his best quality, Elez Isufi never thought in his life that his death would have come from a betrayal.

He was in Ali Riza's barracks in Peshkopi, when he realized that he had been betrayed at the moment when a rifle battery was directed at him and his nephew Suf Jalil.

Leaving the barracks, Suf Jalili was the first to be shot and died on the spot, while Elez Isufi received two bullets in his abdomen and fell to the ground.

Injured like that, they sent him to his tower, where he died two weeks later.

HOW WAS THE MURDER ORGANIZED?

The moment of the murder of Elez Isufi has been told in his historical memories by the contemporary Ismail Strazimiri, deputy prefect of Dibra.

"...The bullets of the opponents fell like a hailstorm in the courtyard of the barracks, then Sul Xelili was taken and dueled outside the alcove. He was also followed by Elez Isufi. Suf Jalil was killed falling from a low wall of the barracks yard, while Elez Isufi was wounded in the yard. ... Elez Isufi was wounded with two bullets below the navel, he died on the night of December 29-30, 1924".

The murder was pure treason. This is confirmed again by his contemporary, Strazimiri: "Their murder was not accidental or accidental. It was prepared by the people and it was carried out by holy people. Meanwhile, Murat Qerrja was killed and Nesim Ahmeti, Osman Musai, Mehmet Elezi were wounded, all from Dardha and loyal to Elez".

Although it implies me, this version is also given by Elez Isufi himself a few moments before he died when among his last words he said:

"If I am going to escape death, I will no longer deal with people, but with animals".

But there is also a version, according to which his death was more a will of Elez Isufi himself.

When he learned that his nephew, Suf Jalil, had been killed, he refused to allow the doctor to remove the bullets from his body, accompanying him with the words: "After it was said that we would run away from this world together"!

The line of people who went to his funeral was one of the longest seen not only in that area.

COURTESY OF ELEZ ISUF

Without school, without any extra culture and education, Elez Isufi nevertheless had some qualities of nature that made him go down in history. Not only is his bravery proverbial, but to this quality he had added another one, honesty.

The first witness who speaks of his honesty and loyalty is the English consul in Albania, Ayros, during the visit of March 1922, where Elez Isufi and Ahmet Zogu trusted each other, even though he was 60 years old and Ahmet Zogu was 26 years old, only with a handshake.

He would also be surprised by a Serbian general who, as he went to his tower, made several offers in monetary value just so that he would not oppose the taking of some lands within the Albanian border.

Elez Isufi was watching some children nearby and said to the Serbian general: "Look, sir! Even if I wanted to, old man, you betrayed Albania, you didn't leave me these children".

This was Elez Isufi, an old man who represented the best qualities of the Albanian patriot and who fought with his heart and soul for Albania, but who was killed for this Albania by Albanians who collaborated with foreigners. /Taken from the book "The 100 most sensational murders in the history of the Albanian state 1912-2017"/