The Kosovo Liberation Army was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the 1990s. Albanian nationalism was a central tenet of the KLA and many in its ranks supported the creation of a Greater Albania, which would encompass all Albanians in the Balkans, stressing Albanian culture, ethnicity and nation.
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 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.
Ali Ahmeti, also known by the nom de guerre as Abaz Gjuka is a Macedonian politician of Albanian descent, leader of the Democratic Union for Integration, and a junior coalition partner in the Macedonian government from 2008 to 2024. Ahmeti was the political leader of the former Albanian National Liberation Army in the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia.
Viti or Vitina is a town and municipality located in the District of Gjilan in Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Viti has 4,924 inhabitants, while the municipality has 46,987 inhabitants.
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 insurgency in the Preševo Valley was an approximately two year-long armed conflict between 1999 and 2001, between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the ethnic Albanian separatists of the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (UÇPMB). There were instances during the conflict in which the Yugoslav government requested KFOR support in suppressing UÇPMB attacks since they could only use lightly armed military forces as part of the Kumanovo Treaty that ended the Kosovo War, which created a buffer zone between FR Yugoslavia and Kosovo.
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.
Skopska Crna Gora or Karadak Mountains, often called simply Crna Gora, is a mountain range and ethnographic region in North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia. The highest peak is Ramno 1,651 m (5,417 ft) in Macedonia. The largest town on the mountain is Kučevište in North Macedonia.
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.
Ismet Jashari also known as Commander Kumanova, was an Albanian commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who was killed on 25 August 1998 during the fighting with Serbian forces in Kleçkë, Kosovo. The Ismet Jashari-Kumanova Brigade of the KLA was named in his memory. After the Kosovo War, he was declared Hero of Kosovo.
Fadil Nimani was a Kosovar Albanian insurgent commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the Kosovo War and the National Liberation Army (NLA) during the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia, in which the Albanian population sought independence of Albanian-inhabited areas in FR Yugoslavia and Macedonia, respectively.
Xhezair Shaqiri, also known as Commander Hoxha, is a Macedonian politician of Albanian descent, former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and commander of the National Liberation Army (NLA).
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.
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. The offensive started on March 28, 2001, and ended the next day.
Gëzim Ostreni is a former KLA and NLA general. Ostreni is known for participating in the Kosovo War and the 2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia.
Beqir Sadiku also known as Commander Sllupçani, was an Albanian commander and prominent fighter of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the National Liberation Army (NLA). He played a significant role in the Kosovo War, the Insurgency in the Presevo Valley, and the Insurgency in Macedonia (2001). As a commander he participated in numerous battles such as the Battle of Paštrik, the Battle of Slupčane and the Battle of Aračinovo.
The Ground Safety Zone was a 5-kilometre-wide demilitarized zone (DMZ) established in June 1999 after the signing of the Kumanovo agreement which ended the Kosovo War. It bordered the area between inner Republic of Serbia in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Kosovo.
Harun Aliu, known as Commander Kushtrimi, was an Albanian commander and co-founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the Kosovo War and the National Liberation Army (NLA) during the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia, who later became a politician in North Macedonia. He was killed in a Macedonian police ambush on 12 May 2010.
