to fight the Yugoslav Army for Azemi came with the formation of the KLA and the beginning of the Kosovo War. Azemi quickly rose up the ranks in the Army. In the summer of 1998, he himself became part of these insurgencies, as a member of the 134th Brigade "Bedri Shala", which operated in the Operational Zone of Dukagjini. Azemi took part in the Battle of Košare on the border between Yugoslavia and Albania. Azemi fought in the Dukagjini Operational Zone until his return to his native village and family, on June 28, 1999 when the war ended. He had returned there as an armed victor, ready to fight more to establish Greater Albania. This attitude of his seemed to have been noticed by the Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops, who, during their deployment in Kosovo, had turned their attention to him. But even this attention did not prevent him from joining the ranks of the UÇPMB. The war in the Preševo Valley Following the end of the Kosovo War, Azemi later joined the UÇPMB. In the UÇPMB, Azemi also had a commanding position, of which he was known as Komandant Mjekrra. He was the commander of the 115th "Karadak" brigade of the UÇPMB, which after his death was renamed the "Nijazi Azemi" brigade. In the numerous UÇPMB battles, Azemi fought until the internationally mediated signing of the agreement between the warring parties to end the conflict. Despite the ceasefire, he had openly stated that he would not hand over his weapons and that it was not clear to him what his superiors had signed. "I did not seize the weapons to hand them over," Azemi stated. Death On March 26, 2001, Azemi and other UÇPMB fighters were situated near the village of Caravajka in the municipality of Presevo. Serbian forces were also stationed in this village and in the afternoon of this date, a shootout erupted and Azemi was hit by a sniper bullet. Although he was wearing a bulletproof vest, he was hit in the left side of the chest. Despite first-aid intervention, Azemi died of from his wound. On March 28, 2001, the body of Nijazi Azemi was exhibited in the Adem Jashari square in Vitina, in front of thousands. He was buried that day, in the Martyrs' Cemetery in Vitina. A square in the city of Vitina bears the name of Nijazi Azemi. His time has been