In Barçallë, near the mountain ridge of Dukat (Vlorë), the “Assembly of Barçalla” was held, on the eve of the Vlorë War (1920). Representatives from the city of Vlora and the villages of the region participated. It was decided there to organize and initiate armed resistance against the Italian invaders. For the organization of the resistance, the “National Defense Committee” was formed with Osman Haxhiu as its chairman and a commission of officers to lead the military operations, with Ahmet Lepenica at the helm. The Assembly of Barçalla called on the population of the Vlorë region and nearby regions to take up arms and rise up in the liberation struggle. The forces’ main gathering point was Beuni, at the foot of the mountain between the villages of Vajzë and Smokthinë. On June 3, 1920, an ultimatum was sent to the commander of the Italian occupying forces in Albania, General Settimio Piaccentini, demanding the surrender of the administrations of Vlora, Tepelena, and Himara to the government of Tirana, within 48 hours. His opposition led to the outbreak of the Vlora War. (In the photo: The Paria of the villages of Labëria gathered in Barçalla.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2, Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1433.
Photo: © Prof. Dr. Nezha A., personal archive
Graphic processing: AHCF
