Oct 31, 2024 – A quiet Wednesday afternoon turned tragic on the Shkodër-Koplik road, as gunfire from a moving car claimed two lives and injured two more in what appears to be the latest fallout from a family feud that has cast a long shadow over the region.
The attack unfolded at 1:50 p.m. near Dobraç, where witnesses say a car carrying Hamza Lici, who died at the scene, and Arlind Bushati, left severely injured, veered off the road after taking heavy fire. The out-of-control vehicle struck a motorcycle carrying a married couple, BB and FB, who were caught in the chaos. FB did not survive the impact, while her husband is now fighting for his life in the city hospital.
The Lici name is well-known in these parts. Hamza’s father, Mustafa Lici, once served as a city councilor and led a small political party. His brother, Ibrahim, has also been on the police’s wanted list for years over alleged involvement in various criminal activities. Bushati, the other intended target, is the son of Xhemal Bushati, a former Democratic Party mayoral candidate who narrowly escaped an attempt on his life just last month.
This brutal ambush is suspected to be connected to an old and bitter feud between the Licis and the Bajris, a rivalry with roots as tangled as they come. Locals recall that this simmering conflict dates back to a bomb attack in January 2018, which injured businessman Lulzim Kulla and seven others. Since then, tragedies have punctuated the feud—some unforgettable, like the double murder of Boran Bërçana, a former policeman, and his partner in 2018, whose child was spared only by a twist of fate.
Though no arrests have been made, rumors about rival families’ ties and tensions abound. Authorities have intensified their efforts, with Albania’s Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) probing any clues. The encrypted exchanges on platforms like SKY and ECC have been crucial leads in piecing together how this feud has escalated into a web of violence that has left so many lives in ruin.
Shkodër residents, meanwhile, find themselves in a mix of grief and weary resilience, as they watch yet another chapter unfold in a saga that’s long been a grim fixture of life here.
