[2] A group of Jews and Belarusians, members and sympathizers of the delegalized Communist Party, all citizens of Poland, took control of the town of Skidel and some nearby locations, acquired firearms, often from skirmishes with Polish Army units and police[2] Similar incidents of various severity, with pro-communist activists attacking and taking over local government offices, arresting or fighting with Polish police and army personnel, took place in numerous nearby settlements including Jeziory [be; pl], Wiercieliszki, Wielka Brzostowica, Dubno, Wołpa, Indura (near Grodno), Sopoćkinie, Zelwa, Wołkowysk, Ostryna, Zdzięcioł (near Nowogródek), Janów Poleski, Horodec, Antopol, Drohiczyn Poleski and Motol nearby among other locations.

[1] In a number of instances, individual or groups of former authority figures, such as civil servants, landowners, priests, rural settlers, policemen and reserve officers, usually of Polish ethnicity, were murdered, including in Skidel, Brzostowica Mała, Lerypol, Budowla, and other locations.

[2] In some settlements, the withdrawal of Polish administration ahead of the Soviet advance prompted Jewish councils to form self-defense groups against the Belarusian raids which further complicated the issue of allegiance.

[2] Shortly afterward, on 20 September, advancing Red Army units, supported by armor, took over Skidel, pushing the Polish forces back.

[2] After the end of World War II, and the annexation of eastern Poland, the mass murders and robberies were hushed up and the sabotage action in Skidzieĺ turned by the Soviet Union into a province-wide liberation movement.