Operation MH-1 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Belligerents | |||||||||
![]() | ![]() | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
![]() ![]() | ![]() | ||||||||
2 civilians in Kosovo killed and 10 wounded [5] |
Operation MH-1 was a Macedonian military operation with the goal to clear out the NLA rebels from the Skopska Crna Gora region all along the Macedonian border. [4] [11] The offensive started on March 28, 2001, and ended the next day.
Two days before the start of Operation MH-1 the Macedonian security forces started Operation MH in the Tetovo region which cleared out the NLA from the city and the surrounding villages. [4] [12] [13]
The Macedonian security forces started a two pronged attack near the Kosovo border using tanks, APC's and helicopter gunships and occupied most roads and villages along the Kosovo border installing police checkpoints. [14]
During the operation, Macedonian infantry units were reluctant to engage in an open battle with the rebels. [10]
Although the Macedonian Army officially claimed victory, the NLA stated that they were only regrouping around Gračani for an upcoming counter-offensive. [15] [16]
On 31 March, 30 suspected rebels in Kosovo tried to cross the border into Macedonia, however they were detained by NATO forces. [17]
After the end of operation MH-1 and the securing of the border with Kosovo, the Macedonian armed forces launched Operation MH-2 to clear out the rebels in Kumanovo.
The Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac was an Albanian militant insurgent group fighting for separation from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for three municipalities: Preševo, Medveđa, and Bujanovac, home to most of the Albanians in south Serbia, adjacent to Kosovo. Of the three municipalities, two have an ethnic Albanian majority, whilst Medveđa has a significant minority of them.
The National Liberation Army, also known as the Macedonian UÇK was an ethnic Albanian militant and separatist militia that operated in the Republic of Macedonia in 2001 and was closely associated with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Following the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia, it was disarmed through the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which gave greater rights and autonomy to the state's Macedonian Albanians.
The 2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia was an armed conflict which began when the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) insurgent group, formed from veterans of the Kosovo War and Insurgency in the Preševo Valley, attacked Macedonian security forces at the end of January 2001, and ended with the Ohrid Agreement, signed on 13 August of that same year. There were also claims that the NLA ultimately wished to see Albanian-majority areas secede from the country, though high-ranking members of the group have denied this. The conflict lasted throughout most of the year, although overall casualties remained limited to several dozen individuals on either side, according to sources from both sides of the conflict. With it, the Yugoslav Wars had reached the Republic of Macedonia which had achieved peaceful independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.
The Albanian National Army is an Albanian paramilitary organization which operates in North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo. The group opposes the Ohrid Framework Agreement which ended the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia between members of the National Liberation Army and Macedonian security forces.
The Battle of Tetovo, was the largest engagement during the 2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia, in which Macedonian security forces battled the National Liberation Army (NLA) for control of the city.
The Battle of Vaksince was a military engagement between the Macedonian security forces and Albanian insurgents belonging to the NLA, which was at the time launching a campaign of guerrilla attacks against facilities of the Macedonian Government, the Macedonian Police force, and the Macedonian Armed Forces.
Operation Mountain Storm was carried out on 7 November 2007 by special police forces of the Republic of Macedonia against an armed ethnic Albanian group in the Šar Mountains of Brodec above Tetovo region with ties to Albanian paramilitary of the conflicts in Kosovo (1998–1999), Preševo Valley (2000–2001) and Macedonia (2001).
The Aračinovo crisis was a series of events triggered by the occupation of the village of Aračinovo, in the outskirts of the Macedonian capital Skopje, by the insurgent National Liberation Army (NLA) in June 2001 and the consequent attempts by the Macedonian army (ARM) to retake the settlement. The Macedonian attack resulted in a standoff with NATO, whose troops evacuated the besieged rebels after a ceasefire accord. The crisis is considered to be the turning point in the Macedonian war of 2001, and one of its most controversial incidents.
Operation MH was the first major offensive by the combined forces of the Macedonian Army and police forces in the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia. The goal of the operation was to dislodge the NLA forces which were entrenched in Tetovo and the hills and villages in its vicinity.
The battle of Raduša was part of the wider inter-ethnic conflict known as the Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia between the Albanian NLA and Macedonian security forces concentrated near the border with Kosovo. The brunt of the fighting happened near the village of Raduša and Bojane villages that guard the roads to the Rašče water supply which supplies water to the capital city of Skopje.
The Tanuševci operation was a joint Macedonian-KFOR operation to regain control of the village of Tanuševci which was previously infiltrated by NLA rebels. The operation was successful with NATO-led KFOR forces capturing the village and Macedonian Army units sweeping the area and ambushing the retreating NLA.
The Macedonian police initiated an operation to seize guarded weapons caches and bunkers held by members of the National Liberation Army in late April 2010 near the village of Blace on the Kosovo border. The raid was conducted by members of the Macedonian Special Police Unit "Tigar".
The Brest attack was an attack by the National Liberation Army (NLA), near the village of Brest on 10 March 2001 during the insurgency in Macedonia. the NLA ambushed a Macedonian convoy, after they were defeated and forced to withdraw by KFOR troops in the village of Tanuševci.
The Battle of Matejče was a military confrontation between the National Liberation Army (NLA) and the Macedonian Army in the village of Matejče during the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia. The NLA succeeded in capturing the village on 5 June 2001 and the Macedonian Army was forced to withdraw from Matejče. The Macedonian Army continued to shell Matejče until 11 June 2001.
The Battle of Slupčane was a military engagement between the Macedonian security forces and Albanian insurgents belonging to the National Liberation Army (NLA), which at the time, was launching a campaign of guerrilla attacks against facilities of the Macedonian Government, the Macedonian Police force, and the Macedonian Armed Forces. The NLA was victorious, in part due to the withdrawal of Macedonian forces and suspension of all military operations in Kumanovo–Lipkovo region so that international officials could inspect the water supply.
The Lipkovo crisis was a crisis involving Macedonian security forces and Albanian insurgents from the National Liberation Army (NLA). During the crisis, the NLA captured the Lipkovo dam, which caused a 12-day-long water crisis for the neighboring town of Kumanova. On 18 June 2001, the NLA agreed to let the International Red Cross and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) restart the water supply systems. Macedonian military operations were halted to allow inspectors to access and repair the pumps.
The Battle of Nikuštak was a military engagement in 2001 between the National Liberation Army (NLA) and the Macedonian Army in the village of Nikuštak, Macedonia. Macedonian forces launched a large-scale offensive in Nikuštak on 27 June 2001.
Combatants
The Battle of Orizare was a military engagement between the Macedonian security forces and Albanian insurgents belonging to the National Liberation Army (NLA).
The Battle of Lojane was an apparent military engagement between the Macedonian security forces and Albanian insurgents belonging to the NLA. The occurrence of a battle in the village remains uncertain, as per Stevo Pendarovski, the former interior ministry spokesman. According to him, Macedonian forces faced no opposition from the NLA, as the village had been deserted by both the NLA and Albanian civilians before the Macedonian Army and police forces entered.
The attack, which also wounded 16 residents, occurred as Macedonian government forces across the border pressed an offensive against Albanian guerrillas, many of whom have fled north across remote mountain passes into Kosovo. According to residents, about 20 of the rebels had passed near the village the previous night.
The fighting was continuing and retreating rebels were firing on Macedonian security forces, government officials added. But the rebels no longer held any villages and had inflicted no casualties on Macedonian forces, they said. Commander Sokoli, one of several regional rebel leaders, said senior commanders of the movement decided at a late afternoon meeting that they would strike back to reverse government progress made during a series of offensives that included the use of artillery, tanks and helicopter gunships. In contrast to government claims of victory, the rebels suggest they have merely pulled back and regrouped in the rugged and largely inaccessible hills near Tetovo.
The Macedonian government has been congratulating itself on a successful operation since Sunday against Albanian rebels, which it has managed with minimum casualties.
Staunch resistance by 100 NLA fighters cornered in the Gracani area after the Tetovo fighting continued to embarrass the ARM, whose infantry units seemed extremely reluctant to engage in an open battle.