Kosovo–Macedonian border shootout (April 2010)

April 2010 Kosovo–Macedonian border shootout
Date 28 – 29 April 2010 (2 days) Location Blace, Macedonia Result Macedonian government victory NLA retreats over the border
Belligerents
Macedonia	Armed group claiming to be the NLA
Commanders and leaders
Pres. Gjorge Ivanov PM Nikola Gruevski Gordana Jankulovska	Avni Selimi
Units involved
Macedonian Police "Tigers" Special Operations Unit	Unknown
Strength
Unknown	12
Casualties and losses
None	1 wounded

A shootout occurred in the night between 28 and 29 April 2010 near the village of Blace on the Macedonian side of the Kosovo–Macedonian border between the Macedonian police and an armed group identifying itself as the National Liberation Army (NLA). The incident occurred when Macedonian police attempted to seize a large number of weapons located near the border. During the shootout, one NLA member was wounded. The NLA also claims that one Macedonian policeman was killed, although there isn't any evidence to support this claim. After the clash, the NLA fled to Kosovo, where the Kosovo police reportedly tried to arrest them. At first, they failed but later they managed to arrest seven suspects.

Event

After receiving information that a large amount of weaponry was being stored on Skopska Crna Gora, a few kilometers from the Blace border crossing, the Macedonian police began the operation. Immediately before the shootout, Macedonian helicopters and special units were sighted in the area. The NLA claims the shootout began when police ambushed them. Macedonian police say that the rebels dispersed and fled to Kosovo as soon as they were fired back upon. The Kosovo police tried to arrest two of the involved but failed. After the clash, police seized the weaponry, which had been distributed between four bunkers. Among the seized weapons were machine guns, grenades, anti-tank mines, plastic explosives, mortars, automatic rifles, and bombs. The overall number of weapons was enough to fill two whole trucks. At the same time, Kosovo police seized a couple of rifles and uniforms as well as a gun in the village of Begance along the border. Sometime later, Kosovo police arrested seven people in Kačanik due to suspected involvement in the incident.

Aftermath

On the ninth anniversary of the beginning of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia, the NLA sent a letter to the Macedonian television station "Alsat-M" stating that they will "prolong their activities in all parts of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia where Albanians live" and that the weaponry seized was theirs. Next month, another shootout took place on the border.

See Also

• 2001 Insurgency in Macedonia
• Insurgency in the Preševo Valley
• Kondovo Crisis
• 2015 Kumanovo Clashes
• National Liberation Army
• Albanian National Army
• Ilirida
• Kosovo–North Macedonia relations

Notes

a.

^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels Agreement. Kosovo has been recognized as an independent state by 112 out of 193 United Nations member states. 10 states have recognized Kosovo only to later withdraw their recognition.

References

This article "Kosovo–Macedonian border shootout (April 2010)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Kosovo–Macedonian border shootout (April 2010). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

• Action of 23 March 2010
• Action of 5 April 2010
• Left-wing insurgency in Greece
• 2013 Kumanovo religious attacks
• Action of 1 April 2010

---