Formation
At the end of 1943, a group of Cham Albanians, led by Ali Demi, attacked a German garrison, in Vlora, Albania, killing 39 German troops and losing 12 members of the battalion, including Ali Demi himself. At this time, Greek People's Liberation Army, asked Cham Albanians living in Greece to create a battalion and to enlist in its ranks. Having a good relation with the Albanian Army, ELAS's and NAFLA's officers managed to persuade Chams to create armed forces under the ELAS army.
In May 1944, a group of local Cham Albanians, created the battalion named after Ali Demi, in the village Milea (Albanian: Kastanjë), which was included in the 15th regiment of Greek People's Liberation Army. At the time of its creation it compromised around a thousand members, the vast majority of whom were Chams. The battalion consisted of 460 partisans, including Cham Albanians while the rest were Orthodox Albanians and Greeks of the region.
Read more about this topic: 4th "Ali Demi" Battalion
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