After the founding of the People's Republic of Albania on 11 January 1946, he joined the Armed Forces (Alb: Forcat e Armatosura të Shqipërisë) and increased his influence over time as commander of a brigade and then as division commander.
Nach der Gründung der Volksrepublik Albanien am 11. Januar 1946 trat er in die Streitkräfte (Forcat e Armatosura të Shqipërisë) ein und stieg im Laufe der Zeit zum Kommandeur einer Brigade und danach einer Division auf.