The Mustafa Band was a group of four Albanian exiles who wanted to kill Enver Hoxha in 1982. The plan failed and two of its members were killed and one arrested.[1][2]
The Mustafa Band was a group of four Albanian exiles who wanted to kill Enver Hoxha in 1982. The plan failed and two of its members were killed and one arrested.[1][2]
Though the personal motives for the infiltration are not clear, the former members and Albanian prosecutors concur that the objective was the assassination of Hoxha and the idea was hatched in 1975 at the wedding of the pretender to the Albanian throne King Leka I.[4] The operation was also thought to have been backed by Yugoslavia as retaliation against the 1981 protests in Kosovo.
All four banded together in Italy in 1982, where they obtained supplies. Halit was an informant who obtained approval from the Sigurimi to participate in the mission. Halit planned to secure the group's capture by sending details of the operation to agency headquarters via contacts in Rome and Paris.
Although Fadil had planned to join the infiltration, he was injured just before the launch of the speedboat. Fadil recuperated in Italy then returned to his home in New Zealand. The remaining partisans crossed the Strait of Otranto and arrived at the Albanian coast on the night of 24–25 September 1982 near Divjakë. Albanian forces had been tipped off by Halit and were looking for the group at two landing points, but Xhevdet decided to change the plans due to Fadil's withdrawal. Xhevdet, Sabaudin, and Halit came ashore undetected and disappeared in the Karavasta forest, about 50 miles (90 km) away from Tirana. The group was equipped with rifles, pistols, binoculars, a radio transmitter, and money.[5]
At dawn, Xhevdet and Sabaudin went exploring and killed two patrolmen who discovered them. They returned to Halit, and half an hour later a patrol boat approached them, ordering them to surrender. Xhevdet opened fire, killing two officers, and took a fisherman captive. They exited the forest and started along the road toward Tirana under the guise of a police patrol, debating on whether to travel on the roads or get to Tirana the same day. They arrived late that night at a small bridge northeast of Divjakë and rested.
The next morning, the civilian led the three gang members to the town of Rrogozhinë, where they found a train station. Halit purchased tickets for the afternoon train to Tirana. After a long wait, the group was approached by police officers, who asked Sabaudin for identification. Halit replied that they had no papers and were all saboteurs.[6]
Halit was taken into custody by the officers. Xhevdet fled, stealing a FSC Żuk delivery van. Sabaudin also fled, jumping into a bunker where a standoff ensured. Sabaudin attempted to rally forces to join him on the march to Tirana, but was shot by riflemen in the firefight and committed suicide.[7] Meanwhile, Xhevdet drove southwest, stopping to carjack a driver who drove them to Lushnjë. He hid in a residence, taking the family hostage for two hours. Xhevdet shot himself as an armored vehicle knocked down one of the walls.[4]
Halit, the sole survivor of the three who arrived in Albania, was held in protective custody for questioning and testified in 1983 against the former Minister of Defence Kadri Hazbiu, who had been removed from his post on 10 October 1982 and was suspected of working for Yugoslavia and the CIA, as well as providing hiding places for the group.[8] Hazbiu was convicted of abuse of office and executed in 1983. Halit Bajrami was released and returned to his home in New Zealand. Hoxha later died from a heart attack on April 11, 1985.
The exiled Leka (I), Crown Prince of Albania, denied authorizing the operation, claiming both that it was suicidal and that it was done without his knowledge.