They claimed that the Mountain was a strategic point for the UCBMP, who would use it to continue shelling the town of Vranje in southern Serbia.

[1][2][page needed] On December 25, Serb police stated that they regained strategic positions in the volatile Preševo Valley situated on the border region between Kosovo and the rest of Serbia.

According to Yugoslav forces, regaining Saint Ilija Mountain and the valley, which is on the edge of the buffer zone that runs 5 km inside Serbia, was vital because ethnic Albanian militants were using the position to shell the southern Serbian town of Vranje.

Following a day of fighting, the Mountain fell into hands of Yugoslav police who successfully deblocked town of Vranje, securing it until the end of war and not allowing any UCBMP members to enter.

The previous month, four Serb police officers were killed when insurgents seized several strategic positions in the zone on the Yugoslav side of the Kosovo boundary.