On the same day ( 31 January ) , Putnik 's detachment chased the Ottoman army , which was retreating towards Bujanovac and Preševo , attacking parts of the army and causing panic among Turkish refugees who had retreated with it . Some Ottoman army defense units located at Pljačkovica and Krstilovica were uninformed of the fall of Vranje and continued to fight . The Supreme Command of the Serbian troops sent help to the soldiers at Krstilovica in the form of the Kragujevac and Posavina Battalions with orders to defeat the Ottoman units at Krstilovica . Also , the Kosmaj Battalion was sent from Vranje with two guns to attack Ottoman units at Pljačkovica . During the Serbian – Ottoman War ( 1876 – 1878 ) most of the Muslim population ( Albanians and Turks ) of Vranje fled to the Ottoman vilayet of Kosovo while a smaller number left after the conflict . Ottoman sources state that during the war Serbian forces destroyed mosques in Vranje
fled
Expulsion of the Albanians 1877–1878
Battle of Vranje