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Concept
Këshilla
Summary
Këshilla (literally meaning "Council" in Albanian; Ξίλια) was an Albanian administration in Thesprotia, Greece, during the Axis occupation of Greece (1941-1944). It was set up during the Fascist Italian occupation with the aim of annexing the Greek region into a greater Albanian state and continued its operations under Nazi German occupation until the defeat of Axis Powers and the end of World War II. This initiative was undertaken by the Cham Albanian leaders of the Dino family, in particular the brothers Nuri and Mazar Dino, who "trapped" the majority of the Cham community into supporting the council. The policy of ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the Këshilla and other paramilitary organisations under the Dino clan was used as justification by the EDES resistance forces at the end of the war to expel the Muslim Cham community from the region, with the exception of small groups who had joined the EDES guerillas.
Këshilla was part of the Cham Albanian collaboration with the Axis during the Second World War.
Greco-Italian War
Following the Italian invasion of Albania, the Albanian Kingdom became a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy. The Italians, especially governor Francesco Jacomoni, used the Cham issue as a means to rally Albanian support. As the final excuse for the start of the Greco-Italian War, Jacomoni used the killing of a Cham Albanian leader Daut Hoxha, whose headless body was discovered near the village of Vrina in June 1940. It was alleged by the Italian-controlled government in Tirana that he had been murdered by Greek secret agents. Hoxha was a military leader of the Cham struggle during the inter-war years, leading to him being branded as a bandit by the Greek government.
In October 1940, the Greek authorities disarmed 1,800 Cham conscripts and put them to work on local roads. in the following month, after the Italian invasion, they seized all Albanian males not called up and deported them to camps or to island exile.
Official source
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