Shaban Polluzha

Who was Shaban Polluzha?

Shaban Kastrati better known as Shaban Polluzha was an Albanian military leader in Kosovo.

He was the son of Mustafë Rexhep Kastrati from the village Poluža, in the Drenica region. During World War I he fought with the Entente against Bulgaria and Austria. Later he fought against Yugoslavia. In 1921 he was elected a deputy of Drenica. In 1941 he was interned by the Italian army and when he was released he fought against them.

Thousands of Vulnetari together with gendarmerie commanded by Bislim Bajgora and Shaban Polluzha attacked Ibarski Kolašin on 30 September 1941.

In World War II he joined the partisan forces and fought to expel the Germans from Kosovo. In 1944 he refused to lead his men to the north to pursue the retreating Germans, because Serbian chetnik groups were attacking the Albanian population in Kosovo. The Yugoslav partisans then attacked him encountering strong resistance. He was captured and executed in Terstenikë in 1945 by the Yugoslavs.