Karadak front
The Karadak Front (Macedonian: Карадакски фронт, Albanian: Fronti i Karadakut) was a series of battles fought between the NLA and the Macedonian security forces in the Karadak region, during the 2001 Insurgency in Macedonia.[1]
Background
After the Kosovo war in 1999, Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater political rights and official status for the Albanian language, leading to the foundation of the NLA. The NLA also included some members from the NLA and LAPMB, which fought in the previous Kosovo War and Preševo Valley conflict. Initial events in the Karadak region involved conflicts between Albanians and the Macedonian army, with incidents in Blace on April 7, 1999 where a Macedonian soldier was killed by an Albanian sniper, which later prompted the Macedonian government to blame the British SAS. On January 11, 2000, near Aračinovo, three macedonian policemen were killed in a ambush.[7]
Front
Beginning of the war
On February 17, 2001, about 100 NLA insurgents entered Macedonia. Clashes broke out soon after around the village of Tanuševci and Debelldeh, after the Serbian government handed over Tanuševci to Macedonia in a bilateral agreement. The fighting lasted several days and ended with the occupation of Tanuševci by the NLA.[8] This Battle was the first incident in which major fighting took place.[8][9] On March 4, 2001, the Macedonian Army launched an offensive to retake Tanuševci. A large convoy was sent towards the village, which was then ambushed by the NLA. NLA fighters planted anti-tank mines on the road leading to Tanuševci, the ambush resulted in a heavy battle and the killing of 3 Macedonian soldiers, the fighting ended with a full Macedonian withdrawal from the region. A day after the incident, the Macedonian government begged NATO and its KFOR troops stationed in Kosovo for help against the NLA[10]
Joint military operation by Macedonia and NATO in Tanuševci
On March 8, 2001, KFOR entered the war against the NLA and launched a joint military operation with Macedonia to regain control of the village of Tanuševci, which had previously been infiltrated by NLA fighters. The Operation was successful with NATO-led KFOR forces capturing the village and Macedonian Army units sweeping the area and ambushing the retreating NLA.[10]
NLA counteroffensive
The NLA counteroffensive began on March 10, 2001, near the village of Brest.[11][12][13] NLA insurgents attacked a returning Macedonian convoy, after being forced to retreat by KFOR troops in Tanuševci.[11][14][13] The Macedonian police convoy was sent to establish a presence near the border with Kosovo and prevent the war from taking over the area, but found itself trapped in a NLA attack[15] After this, an hour-long battle with heavy artillery and mortar fire ensued, after which most of the Macedonian column fled the region.[14][13] After the battle, the NLA established control over Brest and Malino, and the War spread to wider parts of the country.[15]
Fighting near Kumanovo
In early May 2001, a group of the NLA infiltrated Kumanovo and established bases in several villages in the north of the city.[16][17] This armed group of NLA fighters, known as 114th Brigade, was led by the Kosovar Albanian Fadil Nimani, and the 113th Brigade, called "Ismet Jashari," was led by Xhezair Shaqiri.[18]
On May 3rd, the NLA's 114th Brigade initiated an operation against Macedonian security forces in Vaksince, killing two Macedonian soldiers and capturing a third one as a prisoner of war.[19] Afterwards, the Albanian insurgents occupied the surrounding area of Vaksince and declared it as their "liberated territory."[20]
On the same day, the Macedonian security forces decided to launch an offensive against the NLA to drive them out of their strongholds in the villages north of Kumanovo.[21][22][23] The spokesman of the Macedonian Army, announced the offensive, which began with the shelling of selected targets in Vaksince by military helicopters and artillery, followed by a large ground force supported by T-55 tanks and hundreds of Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs).[24] Despite the Macedonian forces numerical superiority, they were forced to halt the operation, after the NLA sowed no signs of withdrawl, later the NLA claimed to have shot down one Mi-24 attack helicopter, which was denied by the Macedonian security forces.[25][26]
In the following days, Macedonian security forces bombarded NLA positions in the villages of Slupčane, Orizare, and Otlja.[27]
Operation MH-2
On May 8th, the Macedonian forces launched a large.scale offensive against the NLA, initiating the first major battle in the Kumanovo Karadak region.[28][29][30][31]
The Macedonian forces began shelling the region at 8 o'clock in the morning and then attacked the villages of Slupčane, Ljubodrag, Vaksince, Lopate, and Orizare with a mechanized battalion supported by artillery and air support.[32][33] At around 2:00 PM, the operation was halted by orders of Boris Trajkovski, thus ending the battle and failing to recapture any of the villages.[34][35][36] The exact number of Macedonian and NLA casualties is still unknown, it is speculated that around 20-30 people died in total.
Operation Vaksince
On May 24, 2001, the Macedonian security forces launched an offensive against the NLA in Vaksincë.[37] The fighting turned into urban warfare, with the police and infantry engaging in house-to-house combat in the villages of Vaksince and Lojane, which were strongholds of the NLA.[38] The NLA fiercely resisted but eventually withdrew to the surrounding hills near Vaksince.[39][40] The Macedonian security forces regained control of Vaksincë after the NLA's retreat.[41] During the battle, Fadil Nimani, the main commander of the NLA in Vaksincë, was killed, and one Macedonian soldier was injured.[42]
However, the NLA launched a counteroffensive and recaptured Vaksincë within three days after it was retaken by the Macedonian army.[43][44] The recapture by the NLA was confirmed by Hysamedin Halili, the mayor of Likovë Municipality, on June 7th.[45] Georgi Trendafilov, a Macedonian official, denied that the army had been defeated and claimed that they withdrew only to reorganize in the region. However, on June 6th, the Macedonian army shelled Vaksincë, burning down a house, which demonstrated that they no longer had control of the territory and that Vaksince were under the control of the NLA.[46][47]
References
- ↑ "The War of National Liberation Army in the Karadak of Kumanovo in 2001 ( Republic of Macedonia) According to the British Press | Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences". 2020-08-08.
- ↑ "Macedonia: Army Suspends Operations In Kumanovo-Lipkovo". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
- ↑ http://www.pollitecon.com/Assets/Ebooks/Testimonials-2001.pdf
- ↑ Gall, Carlotta (March 9, 2001). "G.I.'s Join Macedonians in Fight Against Albanian Rebels". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedJANES, Who are the NLA? - ↑ "Politik: Mazedonien: Albaner räumen umkämpfte Orte nicht". Der Tagesspiegel Online – via Tagesspiegel.
- ↑ "Судскиот процес за убиството на полицајците во Арачиново - 12 години без епилог | Кајгана". 2012-06-22. Archived from the original on 2012-06-22. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bideleux, Robert; Jeffries, Ian (2007-01-24). The Balkans: A Post-Communist History. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-58328-7. Search this book on
- ↑ Petersen, Roger D. (2011-09-30). Western Intervention in the Balkans: The Strategic Use of Emotion in Conflict. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-50330-3. Search this book on
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Gall, Carlotta (2001-03-08). "NATO Troops Help Macedonians Drive Away Ethnic Albanian Rebels". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Ethnic Albanian Extremists Ambush Macedonian Vehicle,Killing Policeman". en.people.cn. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
- ↑ Peterson, James W. (2021-08-24), "Vulnerability of former Yugoslav NATO (Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia) and non-NATO (Bosnia- Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Serbia) states", Defending Eastern Europe, Manchester University Press, pp. 131–144, doi:10.7765/9781526147578.00013, ISBN 978-1-5261-4757-8, retrieved 2023-07-11 Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) - ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Macedonian convoy escapes ambush". 2001-03-09. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Peterson, James W. (2021-08-24), "Vulnerability of former Yugoslav NATO (Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia) and non-NATO (Bosnia- Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Serbia) states", Defending Eastern Europe, Manchester University Press, pp. 131–144, ISBN 978-1-5261-4757-8, retrieved 2023-07-11
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Gall, Carlotta (2001-03-10). "Rebel Ambush Traps Macedonian Police and 2 Officials". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
- ↑ "MyStFX | St. Francis Xavier University" (PDF). 2012-05-03. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 2023-06-17. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Phillips, John (2004). Macedonia : warlords and rebels in the Balkans. Internet Archive. New Haven, CT : Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-10268-0. Search this book on
- ↑ Thomas, Nigel; Mikulan, K. (2013-02-20). The Yugoslav Wars (2): Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia 1992–2001. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-0244-6. Search this book on
- ↑ "Soldiers killed in Macedonia". CNN World. 3 May 2001
- ↑ "Macedonia attacks rebel forces". CNN World. 3 May 2001
- ↑ Brussels, Nicholas Wood in Kumanovo Macedonia, and agencies in (2001-05-04). "Macedonia strikes at rebels". the Guardian. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ↑ "Macedonia army begins offensive". 2001-05-03. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ↑ "Macedonia moves against rebels". CNN World. 3 May 2001
- ↑ "Macedonia villagers caught in crossfire". 2001-05-04. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ↑ "Politik: Mazedonien: Albaner räumen umkämpfte Orte nicht". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in Deutsch). ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ↑ Steele, Jonathan; Slupcane, Nicholas Wood near; Macedonia (2001-05-08). "Macedonia pulls back from brink of declaring war". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
- ↑ "КУМАНОВСКИ ФРОНТ – Лабава офанзива или затишје пред бура?" Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. ВЕСТ. 7 May 2001
- ↑ "Лабава офанзива или затишје пред бура?". Вест. 2001-05-07. Archived from the original on 2016-11-16. Retrieved 2014-08-08. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Терористите се повлекуваат кон планината" Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. ВЕСТ. 8 May 2001
- ↑ "CNN.com - Macedonia rebels under fire - May 8, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
- ↑ "Shelling resumes in Macedonia". CNN. 2001-05-06. Archived from the original on 2002-03-07. Retrieved 2014-08-09. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "CNN.com - Macedonia rebels under fire - May 8, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
- ↑ "Macedonia attacks rebel forces". CNN. 2001-05-03.
- ↑ "CNN.com - Macedonia rebels under fire - May 8, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
- ↑ "Shelling resumes in Macedonia". CNN. 2001-05-06. Archived from the original on 2002-03-07. Retrieved 2014-08-09. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Macedonia attacks rebel forces". CNN. 2001-05-03.
- ↑ "АРМ конечно удри врз терористите" Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. ВЕСТ. 25 May 2001
- ↑ "Ваксинце се освојува куќа по куќа, жесток отпор од терористите" Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. ВЕСТ. 26 May 2001
- ↑ "Ваксинце се освојува куќа по куќа, жесток отпор од терористите" Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. ВЕСТ. 26 May 2001
- ↑ "Macedonia targets rebel stronghold". 2001-05-26. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ↑ "Macedonian forces take villages". CNN World. 26 May 2001
- ↑ "Mazedonische Polizei erlangt Kontrolle über Vaksince und Lojane". DER STANDARD (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ↑ Terzieff, Juliette (2001-06-13). "Rebels humiliate Macedonian army / Kosovo veterans close to capital". SFGATE. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
Government forces have been able to claim few successes in the conflict. When they drove the NLA out of the village of Vaksince two weeks ago, it took less than three days for the rebels to regain a foothold.
- ↑ "CNN.com - NATO slams Macedonia rebel attacks - June 7, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ↑ "Robertson: NATO, gati që të çarmatosë UÇK - Shqiptarja.com". shqiptarja.com (in shqip). Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ↑ "CNN.com - NATO slams Macedonia rebel attacks - June 7, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ↑ Limited, Alamy. "A house burns in Vaksince village June 6, 2001 near Kumanovo, 25 km northeast capital Skopje. Macedonia threatened to declare a state of war after five soldiers were killed last night in the deadliest attacks by ethnic Albanian rebels in almost six weeks. Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski was calling for full military mobilization and emergency powers to allow the country to quell the rebellion. RS Stock Photo - Alamy". www.alamy.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-25. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
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