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Kachaks

Albanian rebels against Serbia and Yugoslavia

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
2 min read
Source updated September 1, 2026
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Kachaks (Albanian: kaçak, Serbian: качаци / kačaci) is a term used for the Albanian rebels active in the late 19th and early 20th century in northern Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia, and later as a term for the militias of Albanian revolutionary organizations against the Kingdom of Serbia (1910-18) Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918-24), called the "Kachak Movement".

01Etymology

The word is derived from Ottoman Turkish kaçak for "outlaw", which is derived from kaçmak meaning “run away” or “hide”.

02History

1920-24 Kachak movement

The Committee for the National Defense of Kosovo (Albanian: Komiteti për Mbrojten Kombëtare të Kosovës) was created in Shkodër, under Hasan Prishtina, in 1918. The committee organizationally and financially supported the kachaks in Albanian-populated areas of Yugoslavia, in Kosovo and Skopje (the former Kosovo vilayet). Kachaks were also active around Ohrid and Bitola. On 6 May 1919 the Committee called for a general uprising in Kosovo and other Albanian-inhabited regions in Yugoslavia. The Kachaks were popular among Albanians, and local support to them increased in the 1920s when Hasan Prishtina became a member of the Albanian parliament, Kadri Prishtina ("Hoxhe Kadriu") became Minister of Justice, and Bajram Curri became Minister of war (1921). All three were Kosovar Albanians.

During this time, Kosovar Albanians under Azem Galica began an armed struggle, also known as the "Kachak movement", a large-scale revolt in Drenica involving around 10,000 people under Galica. The uprising was quelled by the Royal Yugoslav Army. Armed conflicts between the Royal Yugoslav Army and the Kachaks took place in the years 1920 and 1921, 1923, with a revival in 1924. One of the achievements was the creation of the "neutral zone" around Junik, which would serve to jeopardize the frontier and provide ammunition and other logistical support for the Kachaks.

03Legacy

They are widely depicted in Albanian folklore. Albanian collaborationists in Yugoslavia during World War II were also sometimes known as Kachaks.

04Notable people

Watch videos about KachaksExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Kachaks”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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