Last night’s conflict in the village of Dedaj in Puka, which almost cost the lives of members of two families and left blood stains on the streets, is not an isolated incident. Beyond the violent altercation in which sharp objects and cutting tools were used, this incident represents the high point of a long and silent ordeal of hatred that has lasted for more than two decades.
The new clash between the Shkreli family and the Istrefi family reopens the wounds of a cold war over property, which has already crossed every boundary of good neighborliness, turning into a dangerous hotbed of blood feud.
According to Report TV, the tensions between the two families have their origins in early disputes over land and pasture boundaries in this mountainous area. For more than 20 years, according to the Istrefi side, the neighbors have been involved in conflicts, insults and mutual accusations of property infringement.
This heavy psychological atmosphere has turned every chance encounter on the village streets into a fuse ready to be lit, where a single word is enough to ignite physical violence.
Last night marked the extreme escalation of this accumulated hatred. Although the versions of the event differ — with the Shkreli family on one hand talking about an organized attack inside and in the yard of their apartment, and the Istrefi family on the other claiming they were insulted while crossing the street — the dynamics demonstrate an unprecedented brutality.
The fight left Gramoz Istrefi seriously injured with a fractured hand, his sister Fiqiret Istrefi with a head wound, and Fatjon Shkreli, while the head of the family, Isa Shkreli, chose to refuse medical treatment despite head injuries. The presence of cutting tools and hard objects indicates that the parties had moved from words to open acts of physical elimination.
The intervention of the State Police came as an urgent measure to prevent an even greater tragedy, placing three people in handcuffs — Isa Shkreli, Fatjon Shkreli and Gramoz Istrefi — while proceeding at large with the other members involved. However, the handcuffs and strict police supervision at the Shkodra Hospital have not extinguished the fire of the conflict.
The current scenario warns of the danger of a cycle of revenge. The open threats and “oaths” exchanged between the two families after the event prove that the village of Dedaj is already living under the shadow of fear.
Beyond the next arrests, this historic conflict remains a red alert for local institutions and security structures, which must intervene radically to resolve the bone of contention between the parties, before this long property war produces new victims who cannot be returned.