wrote a poem of the victory. After the territorial expansion of Montenegro towards the Ottoman territories in 1878, Albanians for the first time became citizens of that country. Albanians that obtained Montenegrin citizenship were Muslims and Catholics, and lived in the cities of Bar and Ulcinj, including their surroundings, in the bank of river Bojana and shore of Lake Skadar, as well as in Zatrijebač. On the eve of conflict between Montenegro and the Ottomans (1876–1878), a substantial Albanian population resided in the Sanjak of İşkodra. In the Montenegrin-Ottoman war that ensued, strong resistance in the towns of Podgorica (majority Muslim at the time, with a substantial portion being Albanian) and Spuž toward Montenegrin forces was followed by the expulsion of their Albanian and Slavic Muslim populations who resettled in Shkodër. These populations resettled in Shkodër city and its environs. A smaller Albanian population formed of the wealthy elite voluntarily left and resettled in Shkodër after Ulcinj's incorporation into Montenegro in 1880. On January 31, 1879, Montenegrin teacher Šćepan Martinović informed the government of Cetinje that the Muslims of Nikšić desired a school. The Ottomans had opened schools in Nikšić , among other neighboring regions, in the 17th and 18th century. In 1879, Zenel Ahmet Demushi of the Geghyseni tribe, fought with 40 members of the family against Montenegrin forces led by Marko Miljanov in Nikšić . The conflict intensified in 1880 when the Albanian irregulars fought under Ali Pash Gucia against the Montenegrin forces led by the brother of Marko Milajnov, Teodor Miljanov, the battle lasting five hours, according to letters written by two local Albanians from Shkodër who participated in the battle. The Battles for Plav and Gusinje were armed conflicts between the Principality of Montenegro and Ottoman irregular armies (pro-Ottoman Albanian League of Prizren) that broke out following the decision of the Congress of Berlin (1878) that the territories of Plav and Gusinje (part of former Scutari Vilayet) be ceded to Montenegro. The conflicts took place in this territory between 9 October 1879 and 8 January 1880. The following battles were fought: the Velika attacks (9 October–22 November 1879), the Battle of Novšiće (4 December 1879) and the Battle of Murino (8 January 1880). Some of the participants in the battles became distinguished such as Jakup Ferri of Plav, whose actions in 1879 made him a hero of Albanian folk poetry together with Ali Pasha Gucia. In