Born in Köprülü (now Veles, Republic of Macedonia), in the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire into an Albanian family, Kâzım Fikri graduated from the Ottoman military school in 1902 and completed the College of War in 1905.[1] Kâzım Özalp was involved to 31 March Incident in 1909. He was a military commander during the Balkan wars. In 1917, he was promoted to the rank of the colonel.