 In response to this attack , the Yugoslavs organized a " full @-@ scale revenge mission " involving tanks , APCs and helicopters . They were backed up by artillery from a nearby ammunition factory . With the intention of " eliminating the suspects and their families , " the police attacked villages that had been identified as KLA strongholds , including Likošane and Ćirez . Human Rights Watch noted that " special police forces attacked without warning , firing indiscriminately at women , children and other noncombatants . " KLA members and their families subsequently fled to Jashari 's compound . Here , the police invited Jashari to surrender , giving him a deadline of two hours in which to respond . During this period , a number of families left the compound . Jashari remained , ordering his family members to stay inside and telling his militants to resist to the last man . 
