In the prelude to revolt, the Serbian government worked with some Albanian guerilla bands to be in position of creating difficulties if the moment required it and to that end courted Isa Boletini through the Serb terrorist organisation the Black Hand. On April 23, Hasan Prishtina's rebels revolted in the Yakova mountains, which then spread. By 20 May, Boletini alongside other Albanian leaders were present at a meeting in Junik where a besa (pledge) was given to wage war on the Young Turk government through armed insurrection in Kosovo Vilayet. In springtime 1912, Boletini led a revolt in Kosovo, with surprising victories after victories against the Turks. During the 1912 uprising, while waiting for an Ottoman response to the demands of the rebels, Boletini and other leaders of the rebellion ordered their forces to advance toward Üsküb (modern Skopje) which was captured during August 12–15. Albanian irregulars then threatened to march on Bitola and Thessaloniki, and the Ottomans sent troops against the rebels, who retired to the mountains but continued to protest against the government, and in the whole region between İpek and Mitrovica they plundered military depots, opened prisons and collected taxes from the inhabitants for the Albanian chiefs.