Timeline of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia

Main article: 2001 insurgency in Macedonia

Combatants

• NLA—National Liberation Army
• ANA—Albanian National Army
• ARM—Macedonian Army
• MVR—Macedonian police
• NATO—North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Organizations

• ICTY—International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
• OSCE—Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
• HRW—Human Rights Watch

Background

• 6 November 1992; Bit Pazar shooting, three Albanian civilians and one Macedonian civilian killed.[1]
• 15 February 1995: Opening of an illegal Albanian university in Mala Rečica, 1 Albanian civilian was killed in clashes with the police.[1]
• 9 July 1997; Unrest in Gostivar and Tetovo over use of Albanian flags.[1]

Insurgency

• 22 January 2001; Tearce attack, NLA victory.[2]
• 26 January 2001; Bomb attack on Skopje-Kičevo train, with NLA claiming responsibility.[3]
• 26 February 2001 – 1 March 2001; Battle of Tanuševci, NLA victory.[4]
• 4 March 2001; Ambush near Tanuševci, NLA victory.[5]
• 8 March 2001; Tanuševci operation, NATO-ARM victory.[6]
• 10 March 2001; Brest attack, NLA victory.[7]
• 13 March 2001; Democratic Party of Albanians organized a peace rally in Skopje.[3]
• 14 March 2001, heavy fighting in and around Tetovo.[8] Mass meeting organized on the same day in the city by Albanian non-governmental organizations Organization of Albanian Women, the Civil Rights Forum and the Association of Political Prisoners under the slogan "Stop Macedonian government terror against Albanians."[3]
• 16 March–13 August 2001; Battle of Tetovo, ceasefire.
• 20 March 2001; Macedonian government gave NLA a twenty-hour ultimatum to leave Macedonia.[3]
• 22 March 2001; Macedonian troops kill father and son during a police search in Tetovo.[3]
• 25–27 March 2001; Operation MH, ARM victory.[9]
• 28–29 March 2001; Operation MH-1, ARM victory.[10]
• 14 April 2001; An anti-tank mine killed one and wounded three British soldiers in their armored personnel carrier in the village of Krivenik near Kosovo's border with Macedonia.[11]
• 28 April 2001; Vejce ambush, NLA victory.[12]
• 3 May–6 June 2001; Battle of Vaksince, NLA victory.[13]
• 3 May–11 June 2001; Battle of Slupčane, NLA victory.[14]
• 3 May–11 June 2001; Battle of Orizare, NLA victory.
• 8 May–11 June 2001; Lipkovo crisis, NLA victory.
• 8 May 2001; Operation MH-2, Operation halted.
• 1 June 2001; Lisec clashes[15]
• 24–26 May 2001; Battle of Lojane, ARM-MVR victory.[16][17]
• 24 May–6 June 2001; Battle of Matejče, NLA victory.[18][19]
• 5 June 2001; Ambush near Gajre, NLA victory.
• 6 June 2001; Anti-Muslim riots in Bitola with ethnic Macedonian crowds setting homes and shops on fire, desecrated Muslim graves and defaced a mosque with swastikas and made anti-Albanian graffiti containing "Death to the Šiptars."[3]
• 12–25 June 2001; Aračinovo crisis, ceasefire.[20]
• 20 June–13 August 2001; Battle of Raduša, ceasefire.
• 27 June–5 July 2001; Battle of Nikuštak, ceasefire.[21]
• 7 August 2001; 2001 Skopje police raid, MVR victory.
• 8 August 2001; Karpalak ambush, NLA and ANA victory.[22]
• 8–9 August; 2001 anti-Albanian protests
• 10 August 2001; Ljuboten ambush, 8 Macedonian soldiers killed by NLA.[23]
• 12 August 2001; Ljuboten massacre, 10 Albanian civilians killed by the Macedonian police led by Johan Tarčulovski.
• 13 August 2001; Ohrid Agreement.

Aftermath

• 22 August 2001; Operation Essential Harvest, NATO success, NLA disarmed by NATO forces
• 1 September 2001; Hundreds of ethnic Macedonians, mainly internally displaced people, protested in front of the government building in Skopje against NATO's alleged pro-Albanian involvement and to keep members of parliament from initiating parliamentary procedures for the implementation of the Ohrid agreement.[3]
• 22 September 2001 – 15 December 2002; Operation Amber Fox
• 11 November 2001; Ambush near Treboš
• 17 November 2001; Constitutional amendments of the Ohrid agreement adopted by parliament.[3]

See also

• 2001 insurgency in Macedonia

References

1. Nemanja Džuverović; Věra Stojarová, eds. (2022). Peace and Security in the Western Balkans: A Local Perspective. Taylor & Francis. p. 73. ISBN 9781003276661.
2. "That's the police station, that was". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
3. Vasiliki P. Neofotistos (2012). The Risk of War: Everyday Sociality in the Republic of Macedonia. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 39, 47–50, 62, 118–119. ISBN 9780812206562.
4. Jeffries, Ian (2002-05-16). The Former Yugoslavia at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century: A Guide to the Economies in Transition. Routledge. p. 256. ISBN 978-1-134-46050-2. Macedonia yesterday [1 March] ratified a long-awaited border treaty with Serbia, in spite of tensions over the occupation of a mountain village by ethnic Albanian extremists from Kosovo. The takeover at Tanusevci, close to the border with Serbia, poses the most serious threat to Macedonia's stability since the Kosovo conflict …
5. Škariḱ, Svetomir (2002). Law, Force and Peace: Macedonia and Kosovo. Tri D. p. 626. ISBN 978-9989-677-03-8.
6. Gall, Carlotta (2001-03-08). "NATO Troops Help Macedonians Drive Away Ethnic Albanian Rebels". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
7. Gall, Carlotta (2001-03-10). "Rebel Ambush Traps Macedonian Police and 2 Officials". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
8. Robert Elsie (2004). Historical Dictionary of Kosova. Scarecrow Press. p. xlix. ISBN 978-0-8108-5309-6.
9. Boudreaux, Richard (2001-03-27). "Both Sides in Macedonia Hold Out Hope for Peaceful End". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
10. Archives, L. A. Times (2001-03-29). "Macedonia Hits Rebels Near Kosovo Border". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
11. "In brief". The Guardian. 15 April 2001.
12. "8 soldiers slain in ambush near Albanian region". Chicago Tribune. 2001-04-29. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
13. "CNN.com - NATO slams Macedonia rebel attacks - June 7, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
14. Phillips, John (2004-01-01). Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans. Yale University Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-300-10268-0. In late May, government forces registered their first success with the recapture of Vaksince, which was visited by Ljube Boskovski, the Interior Minister. Government forces were supposed to resume their attack on the villages of Slupcane, Lipkovo and Matejce, but the offensive stalled when a special forces unit mutinied and had to be withdrawn from the front line.
15. "Macedonia rebels die in clashes". CNN. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
16. "Macedonia seizes rebel villages". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
17. Archives, L. A. Times (2001-05-26). "Rebels Forced From Sites, Macedonia Says". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
18. "MACEDONIA:THE CONFLICT AND THE MEDIA" (PDF). Macedonian Institute for Media. Fighting around Matejce lasted from May 28 until June 5. The first sign that the battle against the UCK was not going well came when the Macedonian forces were finally forced to retreat.
19. Krzak, Andrzej (2014-07-26). "Asymmetry of the Albanian‑Macedonian Military Conflict in 2001: Military characteristics of the fight in the regions of Tetovo , Kumanovo , Aračinovo and Vaksince". Politeja. 11 (4 (30)): 295–316. doi:10.12797/Politeja.11.2014.30.23. ISSN 2391-6737. The fighting of Albanians ended up with a success in the region of Kumanovo. The Albanian rebels, concerning the inaction of the government forces, took control of the area from the Matejche (Matejce) village to the Lipkovo Lake. As a result, their posi-tions allowed to observe the region of the capital of Macedonia – Skopje.
20. "Ceasefire agreed in Macedonia". 2001-06-24. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
21. "Analysis: Macedonian truce prospects". 2001-07-05. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
22. "Ten Macedonian troops die in ambush | World news | The Guardian". TheGuardian.com. 2018-06-16. Archived from the original on 2018-06-16. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
23. "CNN.com - Soldiers killed in Macedonia blast - August 10, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2023-09-14.