Kumanovo
Kumanovo is the second largest city in North Macedonia, after Skopje. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name, as well as the main urban settlement of the Northeast Statistical Area within the state. It is located in the northeastern part of North Macedonia at an altitude of 333 m.
- Details
- Written by: SH
- Parent Category: North Macedonia
- Category: Kumanovo
- Hits: 14
The Kokoshin Massacre is a term used to describe the most brutal crimes committed by VMRO komitadjis against Serbs in Macedonia, or Old Serbia, as this region was known in Serbia at the time. The term Kokoshin massacre refers to several crimes carried out by VMRO komitadjis in the vicinity of Kumanovo and Kratovo during the period from July to October 1904. These crimes were committed by VMRO units under the command of voivodes Atanas Babata and Jordan Spasov. The collective name Kokoshin massacre was given by the Serbian press for the murders in the villages of Kokoshin, Shopski Rudar, and Tatomir, as Kokoshin suffered the greatest number of victims.
Massacres
The first killings of Serbs began in the village of German, located at the tri-border area of the Kumanovo, Krivopalanka, and Presevo districts. The village was patriarchal, meaning Serbian, and the VMRO units saw it as a thorn in their side because they feared that Serbian units could establish a base there from which they could threaten the channels of VMRO units traveling from Bulgaria to the interior of the Ottoman Empire. On May 12, 1904, the komitadjis attacked the house of Jovcha Spasic, the father of the village Serbian teacher Dimitrije Jovanovic. Jovcha was not at home at the time, but the komitadjis slaughtered his brother Kitan, his son Stosha, his daughters-in-law Anica and Todora, and his son-in-law Karanfil with knives, while his wife Milja was wounded with eight stab wounds.[1]