2001 Macedonia conflict

2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia
Part of the Yugoslav Wars
Date 22 January 2001 - 12 November 2001 (9 months and 3 weeks) Location Polog and Kumanovo regions of Macedonia near the border with FR Yugoslavia (Kosovo) Result Ohrid Agreement Macedonian offensive stopped by NATO involvement Ceasefire established The majority of Albanian insurgents agree to disarm in exchange for greater ethnic rights Low intensity resurgence since November 2001
Belligerents
National Liberation Army	Macedonia Supported by:  Ukraine(main arms supply)  FR Yugoslavia  Bulgaria
Commanders and leaders
Ali Ahmeti Fadil Nimani † Tahir Sinani † Rahim Beqiri † Hamdi Ndrecaj Gezim Ostreni Samidin Xhezairi	Boris Trajkovski Ljubčo Georgievski Pande Petrovski (from 12 June 2001) Jovan Andrevski (to 12 June 2001) Ljube Boškoski (from 15 May 2001) Dosta Dimovska (to 13 May 2001) Vlado Bučkovski (from 13 May 2001) Ljuben Paunovski (to 13 May 2001)
Strength
6,000 – 7,000	15,000–20,000
Casualties and losses
86 militants killed 50 civilians killed	75 soldiers killed 40 civilians killed 20-30 tanks or armed vehicles captured or destroyed by insurgents
150 to 250 total dead and 1,000 total casualties 70–250 killed in fighting Other: 140,000 people displaced Three EU monitors killed in a non-combat related car accident One UK soldier killed

Ohrid Agreement

 Macedonia
Supported by:

150 to 250 total dead and 1,000 total casualties
70–250 killed in fighting
Other:
140,000 people displaced

The 2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia was an armed conflict which began when the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group began attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the beginning of February 2001, and ended with the Ohrid Agreement. The goal of the NLA was to separate Republic of Macedonia and make Greater Albania. Already in 1999, there were 234,500 Albanian refugees from Kosovo in Macedonia according to the UNHCR estimates who accounted for 11.7 percent of the total population of Macedonia at the time. There were also claims that the group ultimately wished to see Albanian-majority areas secede from the country, though high-ranking NLA members 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 previously peaceful Macedonia.

When it declared its independence on 8 September 1991, Macedonia was the only ex-Yugoslav republic that managed to secede non-violently from the federation. Because of this, Macedonia was considered one of the bright spots in the former-Yugoslavia.

...
Wikipedia