Ismet Jashari, also known as Komandant Kumanova was an Albanian

Albanians

Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...

 member of the UCK

UCK

UCK may refer to:*Ubuntu Customization Kit, a tool to create a customized Live CD of Ubuntu*Kosovo Liberation Army or Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës...

 movement who was killed on 25 August 1998 in Klecke Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

. The Ismet Jashari-Kumanova Brigade of the KLA

Kosovo Liberation Army

The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....

 is named in his memory.

Jashari had left Switzerland where he lived to join the UCK to fight against Serbian military and police forces under the command of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic

Slobodan Milošević

Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...

.

Early life

From his fathers side, the Jashari family migrated to Macedonia

Macedonia (region)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...

 in the early 1910s from Vranje

Vranje

Vranje is a city and municipality located in southern Serbia. In 2011 the city has total population of 82,782, while the urban area has 54,456...

 in south-Serbia when there were a significant minority of ethnic Albanians living there. His mother came from the Emini family of Lipkovo

Lipkovo

Lipkovo is a village in Republic of Macedonia. It is a seat of the Lipkovo municipality.-External links:*...

 near Kumanovo

Kumanovo

Kumanovo is a city in the Republic of Macedonia and is the seat of Kumanovo Municipality which is the largest municipality in the country. Municipal institutions include a city council, mayor and other administrative bodies.-Name:...

 in Macedonia.

During the 70's and 80's Ismet Jashari was active on promoting democracy and freedom in the Communist Federation of Yugoslavia, these actions had him arrested several times and also the main factor which made him flee to Switzerland where he worked with construction.

Ismet Jashari has two brothers and five sisters. One of the brothers is Jemail Jashari who is a MP in the Macedonian Parliament today, representing the Albanian political party BDI (Bashkimi Demokratik për Integrim). The second brother is Murat Jashari who was arrested for illegal weapon trade during the Kosovo Wars by Swiss authorities.

Legacy

In 2011 a monument dedicated to him was inaugurated in Lipkovo Municipality

Lipkovo municipality

Lipkovo is a municipality in northern Republic of Macedonia. Lipkovo is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. Lipkovo Municipality is part of the Northeastern Statistical Region.-Geography:...

, Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

.