Insurgency in the Preševo Valley

Preševo Valley Insurgency
Part of the Yugoslav Wars
Date 12 June 1999 – 1 June 2001 (1 year, 11 months, 2 weeks and 6 days) Location Preševo, Bujanovac, and Medveđa, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia Result Decisive Yugoslav victory UÇPMB disbanded Konculj Agreement (peace) Former UÇPMB and KLA veterans regroup and form the NLA; start of 2001 insurgency in Macedonia
Belligerents
UÇPMB	FR Yugoslavia
Commanders and leaders
Muhamet Xhemajli (UÇPMB commander) Ridvan Qazimi Lleshi  † (Second UÇPMB commander) Shefket Musliu (UÇPMB chief) Pacir Shicri (UÇPMB spokesman) Tahir Dalipi (UÇPMB spokesman)	Slobodan Milošević (President, 1999–2000) Vojislav Koštunica (Second President, 2000–01) Nebojša Pavković (Chief of the General Staff) Ninoslav Krstić (General of the Army) Goran Radosavljević (Police General) Milorad Ulemek (Secret police)
Units involved
	Yugoslav Forces JSO SAJ
Strength
1,600 separatists	3,500 soldiers and policemen 100 JSO members
Casualties and losses
27 killed 400 surrendered to KFOR	18 killed 68 wounded
15 civilians killed (8 Serb, 7 Albanian) 2 UN observers wounded

Decisive Yugoslav victory

Muhamet Xhemajli
(UÇPMB commander)
Ridvan Qazimi Lleshi  †
(Second UÇPMB commander)
Shefket Musliu
(UÇPMB chief)
Pacir Shicri
(UÇPMB spokesman)

The Insurgency in the Preševo Valley was an armed conflict 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 so that the bulk of Yugoslav armed forces could not enter.

The Yugoslav president, Vojislav Koštunica, often warned that fresh fighting would erupt if KFOR units did not act to prevent the attacks coming from the UÇPMB.

The Kosovo War was a parallel conflict between the Yugoslav Army and the Kosovo Liberation Army. It began in February 1998 and ended on 10 June 1999 when the Kumanovo Treaty was signed. According to the treaty, KFOR troops, supervised by the United Nations, would enter as a peacekeeping force, while Yugoslav military forces were to withdraw. It was agreed that the KLA would disband by 19 September 1999. The Preševo valley conflict erupted in June 1999.

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Wikipedia