Wikipedia

National Liberation Army (Macedonia)

(Redirected from National Liberation Army (North Macedonia))

Not to be confused with People's Liberation Army of Macedonia.

The National Liberation Army (NLA; Albanian: Ushtria Çlirimtare Kombëtare, abbr. UÇK; Macedonian: Ослободителна народна армија, romanized: Osloboditelna narodna armija, abbr. ONA), also known as the Macedonian UÇK (Albanian: UÇK Maqedonase; Macedonian: Македонски UÇK, romanized: Makedonski UÇK), was an ethnic Albanian militant[13] militia that operated in the Republic of Macedonia in 2001 and was closely associated with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).[14] 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.

National Liberation Army
Ushtria Çlirimtare Kombëtare
LeadersAli Ahmeti
Gëzim Ostreni
Xhezair Shaqiri
Harun Aliu
Jetulla Qarri
Hajrulla Misini
Dates of operation1999–2001
HeadquartersŠar Mountains, Skopska Crna Gora
Active regionsNorthwestern Macedonia and the Skopje statistical region
Size2,000–3,000[1]
Allies Albanian National Army
Kosovo Liberation Army emblem Kosovo Liberation Army
Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac[2][3][4]
OpponentsNorth Macedonia Macedonia
 NATO[5][6][7]
Ukraine Ukraine[8][9][10]
 Bulgaria[11][12]
Battles and wars

Background and foundation

edit

In 1992–1993, ethnic Albanians created the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)[15] which started attacking police forces and secret-service officials who abused Albanian civilians in 1995.[16] Starting in 1998, the KLA was involved in frontal battle, with increasing numbers of Yugoslav security forces. Escalating tensions led to the Kosovo War in February 1998.[17][18][19]

After the end of the Kosovo War in 1999 with the signing of the Kumanovo agreement,[20] a 5-kilometer-wide Ground Safety Zone (GSZ) was created. It served as a buffer zone between the Yugoslav Army and the Kosovo Force (KFOR).[21][22] In June 1999, a new Albanian militant insurgent group was formed under the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (UÇPMB), which started training in the GSZ.[23][24] The group began attacking Serbian civilians and police, which escalated into an insurgency.

The NLA was founded in 1999 and led by former KLA commander Ali Ahmeti, a nephew of one of the founders of the KLA. Ahmeti organized the NLA from former KLA and UÇPMB fighters from Kosovo, Albanian insurgents from the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac in Serbia, young Albanian radicals, nationalists from Macedonia, and foreign mercenaries.[25][26] With the signing of the Končulj Agreement in May 2001, the former KLA and UÇPMB fighters next moved to western Macedonia where the NLA was established, which fought against the Macedonian government in 2001.[27] The acronym was the same as the KLA's in Albanian.[25] A NLA communiqué from 30 January 2000 claimed responsibility for attacks on police stations in Skopje and Oslomej.[1]

2001 insurgency in Macedonia

edit
Main article: 2001 insurgency in Macedonia

The NLA operated secretly until it began openly engaging the Macedonian military and police. Per the NLA, the goal of the insurgency was to secure greater rights for Albanians.[28] The NLA also demanded a confederate Macedonia.[29] Senior NLA commanders insisted that "We do not want to endanger the stability and the territorial integrity of Macedonia, but we will fight a guerrilla war until we have won our basic rights, until we are accepted as an equal people inside Macedonia."[30] The Macedonian government claimed the NLA was a terrorist organization consisting primarily of KLA fighters, lacking domestic legitimacy and seeking secession or a Greater Albania.[31][32][33]

On 22 January 2001, the NLA attacked a police station in Tearce,[34] killing 1 and injuring 3.[35][36] After the attack, the NLA began to carry out attacks on Macedonian security forces using light weapons.[37] In February, the NLA entered the village of Tanuševci and the conflict expanded to the Kumanovo, Lipkovo and Tetovo region.[38] By the start of March, the NLA had taken effective control of a large swathe of northern and western Macedonia and had come within 12 miles of the capital Skopje.[29]

In March, NLA members failed to take the city of Tetovo in an open attack, but controlled the hills and mountains between Tetovo and Kosovo. In 9 March, the NLA ambushed a police convoy consisting of deputy interior minister Refet Elmazi and secretary of state for interior affairs Ljube Boškoski.[39] In April, the NLA committed an ambush near Vejce on eight soldiers.[40] On 3 May, a Macedonian government counteroffensive failed in the Kumanovo area.[29] By 8 June, the rebels took Aračinovo, a village outside of Skopje. The NLA threatened to bomb strategic targets, such as the Skopje International Airport and the oil refinery, Okta AD. A ceasefire was mediated by the EU and the NLA was evacuated by NATO to a village under its control, Nikuštak.[28] On 7 August, five NLA rebels were killed in Skopje in a police raid. The NLA ambushed Macedonian reservists near Karpalak on the next day.[40] On 13 August, the Ohrid Agreement was signed between ethnic Macedonian and Albanian representatives, ending the conflict.[41] NLA's leadership was not involved in the negotiations for the agreement but they accepted it.[42]

Composition and military capabilities

edit

Approximately 400 young Albanian men from Macedonia,[43] including figures like Ali Ahmeti, Gëzim Ostreni, and Xhezair Shaqiri, had fought within KLA's ranks.[44] Many of these fighters later established the NLA, recruiting additional members from Kosovar Albanians, particularly from Prizren (a former stronghold of Ahmeti) and southeastern Kosovo,[44][45][46] such as the municipality of Vitina, particularly the village of Debelldeh, which was a key stronghold of the NLA in Kosovo.[46][45] Per NLA, about 80% of its fighters were local Albanians from Macedonia. The Macedonian government denied that local ethnic Albanians had joined the NLA, while foreign observers and ethnic Albanians in Macedonia argued that the NLA had gained significant support from the local Albanian population.[47]

Ali Ahmeti stated that the NLA comprised 5,000 members during the conflict, including those in logistical roles. Other sources suggest the NLA claimed to have the capacity to mobilize a larger force of up to 16,000, likely to intimidate the government. The Macedonian government estimated around 7,000 rebels, while Kusovac provided a more modest figure of 2,000–2,500 'full-time' combatants. Nonetheless, the NLA had a broader network of supporters involved in tasks such as reconnaissance, patrolling, communications, and logistics.[44] Members of the Albanian community in Switzerland and Germany raised funding for the NLA through a so-called National Liberation fund (Liria Komberate). The International Crisis Group argued that the NLA was the recipient of funding and weapons linked to criminal groups.[48]

As with the KLA, they were fairly lightly armed – generally with small arms and mortars – though there were later reports that they had acquired SAM-7 anti-aircraft missiles.[44] As the war progressed the rebels managed to acquire heavy weapons including T-55 tanks and armoured personnel carriers captured from Macedonian government forces.[49][50] The NLA also had thousands of land and anti-tank mines.[44]

Organization

edit

The NLA claimed to have six brigades active within Macedonia.[44] The 111th, 113th, and 114th Brigades operated in the Skopska Crna Gora (Karadak) region,[44][51] while the 112th Brigade commanded several battalions in the Tetovo area.[44][51] The 116th Brigade was responsible for the Gostivar region,[51] and the 115th Brigade was positioned in the northwest of Skopje, including Raduša.[44][51]

The six brigades, each with their own commanders were:[51][52]

NLA veterans in politics

edit

Some former leaders of the NLA have taken positions in politics in North Macedonia.

Alleged war crimes

edit
 
Conflict areas during the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia

According to Human Rights Watch: "Ethnic Albanian rebels in Macedonia tortured, sexually abused road workers after abducting them from the Skopje–Tetovo highway."[57] Dozens of ethnic Macedonians were kidnapped. Per Amnesty International, while many were released after a short time, 12 people apparently remained missing after the NLA released 14 others in late September. In October, reports suggested that the 12 may have been killed and buried in mass graves near Neproshteno.[58] Another incident is the Vejce ambush, where Albanian guerrillas ambushed and killed eight Macedonian special operatives, part of a patrol of 16 special operatives.[59][60]

The Macedonian government accused the NLA of bombing a 13th-century Orthodox monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lešok on 21 August 2001.[61][62][63] The attack occurred at around 3 am Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).[63] The interior had been gratified and destroyed.[63] NATO military experts said that "the fact that the battery was lying within an area spattered by rubble and wreckage seemed to suggest that it was detonated using a relatively sophisticated timer device;".[64]

The Macedonian government referred four cases against the NLA to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 2002 for investigation:[65]

  • 'Mavrovo Road Workers' case - Five road workers from the Mavrovo construction company were abducted on 7 August 2001 and were tortured for eight hours.
  • 'Lipkovo Dam' case - The valves of the Kumanovo water supply system at Lipkovo dam were closed down for 40 days in an area under NLA's control, leaving 120,000 citizens without drinking water.
  • 'Neproshteno' case - 12 civilians were abducted from various locations around Tetovo in July 2001.
  • 'NLA Leadership' case - Command responsibility with a combined charge of multiple war crimes, for which NLA's leadership was accused.

The ICTY returned the cases to Macedonia in 2008.[66]

Ceasefire and disarmament

edit
 
U.S. soldier checks an NLA fighter for any hidden contrabands.

Under the Ohrid Agreement, the Macedonian government pledged to improve the rights of the Albanian population, that make up around 20% of the population.[67] Those rights include making Albanian an official language, increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government institutions, police and the army. The Macedonian government also agreed to a new model of decentralization.

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully recognize all Macedonian institutions. In addition, the NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force.[68] The exact number of NLA rebels who were killed is unknown. Per the Macedonian Ministry of Interior, the NLA killed ten civilians.[69]

 
U.S. soldier loading up NLA fighters on a truck heading to a detention center

Operation Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and effectively started on 27 August.[70] This 30-day mission was to initially involve approximately 3,500 NATO troops, a number that went up to 4,200 NATO troops and Macedonian troops, to disarm the NLA and destroy their weapons. In September, the NLA disbanded.[71]

Equipment

edit
Picture Type of Weapon Notes Quantity Source
      Assault rifles Mostly AKM's, ASh 78‘s and Zastava M70's 5,000–8,000 [72][44]
  Heavy machine guns Mostly DShK 150–250 [44]
  Sniping rifles Zastava M76 100–200 [44]
  Surface-to-Air missiles 9K32 Strela-2's and other variants 20–50 [72][44]
  Mortars 60mm, 80mm and 120mm 100–200 [72][44]
  Tanks T-55's captured from the Macedonian Army unknown [72]
  APC's BTR-60’s and TM 170's captured from the Macedonian Army unknown [72]
  Landmines Anti-personnel and anti-tank landmines 5,000+ [44]

Later developments

edit
 
Monument in Sopot of UÇK

In Albanian communities across North Macedonia, monuments dedicated to the NLA were erected.[73] In 2002, the Macedonian parliament approved a general amnesty for former ethnic Albanian insurgents but it only applied for Macedonian citizens.[74] On 26 March 2002, Albanian National Army members attacked former NLA members in the village and former NLA stronghold Mala Rečica near Tetovo.[75][76] The shootout lasted around two hours and a half.[77] According to some news sources, 1 to 2 militants died in this skirmish.[78] Ali Ahmeti later formed the Democratic Union for Integration (which also included former NLA members), which has been the biggest Albanian political party in North Macedonia.[69][79]

In April 2010, a weapon cache believed to be intended for group actions was discovered near the border with Serbia; it included uniforms with UÇK marks.[80]

A movement calling itself the NLA claimed responsibility for the 2014 Skopje government attack.[81] The organization, in the letter signed by "Kushtrimi" to the government, claimed that the "Hasan Prishtina" elite force hit the government building in a coordinated action.[81] The organization claims it is dissatisfied with the 2001 Ohrid Agreement.[81]

Bomb attacks were carried out on 9 December 2014 at 8 p.m. near Macedonian police stations in Kumanovo and Tetovo.[82] The Ministry of the Interior announced that in both cases it was not about bombs, but about a kind of explosive device.[83] there were no injuries and no major damage. A private car parked near the train station was damaged.[84] After the attacks, an organization claiming to be the NLA claimed responsibility.[85]

On 21 April 2015, a group of 40 armed men with UÇK patches attacked a border police station at Gošince. The group tied the policemen up and beat them, then stole their arms and communication devices. Before they left for Kosovo, they issued the message: "We are from UÇK. Tell them that neither Ali Ahmeti nor Nikola Gruevski can save you. We do not want any framework agreement and if we see you here again, we will kill you. We want our own state."[86][87][88]

On 14 May 2015, a series of shootouts happened in Kumanovo between Macedonian police and a group who claimed they were the NLA. Between 50-70 militants were present during the fighting.[89] Ten militants were killed,[90][91][92] and reports state they wore uniforms with UÇK insignia, with 30 more being arrested.[93][94] According to Nikola Gruevski the armed group did not have the support of members of the Albanian minority contrary to the 2001 conflict.[95]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Pettifer, James (2004). "The 2001 Conflict in FYROM-Reflections" (PDF). Defence Academy of the United Kingdom: 3, 20.
  2. ^ "Serbia never signed Končulj agreement". Politika.
  3. ^ "Kosovo Protection Corps Suspends 5". AP News. 6 July 2001. Retrieved 22 June 2022. PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) _ Five high-ranking members of the Kosovo Protection Corps were suspended Friday for alleged involvement in the Macedonian insurgency. The suspensions came a week after President Bush issued an executive order restricting entry to the United States of the five men.
  4. ^ Naegele, Jolyon (9 April 2008). "Macedonia: Members Of Disbanded UCK Look Back At Last Year's Fighting". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 22 June 2022. Ostreni says he foresaw the conflict in Kosovo, and joined the Kosovo Liberation Army long before NATO air strikes began, commanding the group's operations in the Dukagjin plain of western Kosovo. After the war, he served in the Kosovo Protection Corps before returning to Macedonia to lead the uprising.
  5. ^ Gall, Carlotta (8 March 2001). "NATO Troops Help Macedonians Drive Away Ethnic Albanian Rebels". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  6. ^ Gall, Carlotta (9 March 2001). "G.I.'s Join Macedonians in Fight Against Albanian Rebels". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  7. ^ "US Troops Take over Rebel-Held Macedonian Village". Al Bawaba. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Історія однієї дружби. Як Україна боролася за єдність Північної Македонії". BBC News Україна (in Ukrainian). 7 February 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  9. ^ Bugajski, Janucz (2004). Cold Peace: Russia's New Imperialism. Praeger. p. 198-199.
  10. ^ Petersen, Roger D. (30 September 2011). Western Intervention in the Balkans: The Strategic Use of Emotion in Conflict. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-50330-3.
  11. ^ "CNN.com - Bulgaria offers troops to Macedonia - March 5, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  12. ^ Petersen, Roger D. (30 September 2011). Western Intervention in the Balkans: The Strategic Use of Emotion in Conflict. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-50330-3.
  13. ^ Pugh, Michael Charles; Sidhu, Waheguru Pal Singh (2003). The United Nations & Regional Security: Europe and Beyond. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 978-1-58826-232-5.
  14. ^ Prezelj 2008, pp. 49–50
  15. ^ Eriksson, Mikael; Kostić, Roland (15 February 2013). Mediation and Liberal Peacebuilding: Peace from the Ashes of War?. Routledge. pp. 43–. ISBN 978-1-136-18916-6.
  16. ^ Perret 2008, p. 63
  17. ^ Independent International Commission on Kosovo (2000). The Kosovo Report (PDF). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0199243099. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  18. ^ Quackenbush, Stephen L. (2015). International Conflict: Logic and Evidence. Los Angeles: Sage. p. 202. ISBN 9781452240985. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Roots of the Insurgency in Kosovo" (PDF). June 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  20. ^ NATO (9 June 1999). "Military Technical Agreement between the International Security Force ("KFOR") and the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia". Retrieved 15 August 2008.
  21. ^ "Ground Safety Zone (GSZ): Time out for rebel strong hold - Serbia | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 1 June 2001. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  22. ^ "Supervision of Kosovo's borders and military-technical agreement". Zyra e Kryeministrit. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  23. ^ Yonah Alexander; Richard Prosen (15 August 2015). NATO: From Regional to Global Security Provider. Lexington Books. pp. 93–. ISBN 978-1-4985-0369-3.
  24. ^ Corson, Mark W.; Turregano, Clemson G. (2002). "Spaces of unintended consequences: The Ground Safety Zone in Kosovo". Springer. 57 (4): 273–282. Bibcode:2002GeoJo..57..273C. doi:10.1023/B:GEJO.0000007205.16802.d7.
  25. ^ a b Kolstø 2009, p. 173
  26. ^ Marusic, Sinisa (2 September 2020). "North Macedonia Albanian Leader Testifies to Kosovo War Prosecutors". Balkan Insight.
  27. ^ Rafael Reuveny; William R. Thompson (5 November 2010). Coping with Terrorism: Origins, Escalation, Counterstrategies, and Responses. SUNY Press. pp. 185–. ISBN 978-1-4384-3313-4.
  28. ^ a b Vasiliki P. Neofotistos (2012). The Risk of War: Everyday Sociality in the Republic of Macedonia. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. Introduction, 38, 59–60. ISBN 9780812243994.
  29. ^ a b c "Macedonia timeline". the Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  30. ^ "Who are the rebels?". BBC News. 20 March 2001.
  31. ^ Marc Weller; Barbara Metzger; Niall Johnson, eds. (2008). Settling Self-Determination Disputes: Complex Power-sharing in Theory and Practice. BRILL. pp. 266, 268. ISBN 9789004164826.
  32. ^ Vatovci, Isa (27 November 2020). "Deklaratë e përbashkët e institucioneve shkencore dhe kulturore në mbrojtje të UÇK-së". Kallxo (in Albanian). Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  33. ^ "Macedonia's 'Liberation' Army". Zurich: World Press Review. 20 June 2001. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  34. ^ Daskalovski, zidas. THE MACEDONIAN CONFLICT OF 2001: BETWEEN SUCCESSFUL DIPLOMACY, RHETORIC AND TERROR. p. 7.
  35. ^ "CER | Macedonia: Destabilisation?".
  36. ^ "That's the police station, that was". The Economist. 25 October 2001.
  37. ^ "Three Serb policemen killed by Kosovar extremists", The Scotsman, 19 February 2001
  38. ^ Robert Hudson; Glenn Bowman, eds. (2011). After Yugoslavia: Identities and Politics within the Successor States. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 78. ISBN 9780230305137.
  39. ^ John Phillips (2004). Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans. Yale University Press. p. 11. ISBN 9781860648410.
  40. ^ a b Pål Kolstø (2009). Media Discourse and the Yugoslav Conflicts: Representations of Self and Other. Ashgate. pp. 187–189. ISBN 9780754676294.
  41. ^ "Macedonia Redux: Uncertainty in the Slav-Albanian Partnership". Wilson Center. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  42. ^ Cvete Koneska (2016). After Ethnic Conflict: Policy-making in Post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia. Routledge. pp. 71–72. ISBN 9781317183976.
  43. ^ "Sa shqiptarë nga Maqedonia morën pjesë në Luftën e Kosovës?". Bota Sot. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  44. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Macedonia: Guns, policing and ethnic division" (PDF). BICC - Bonn International Center for Conversion. October 2003. pp. 13, 26–28, 53. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2023.
  45. ^ a b Rathfelder, Erich (22 October 2012). Kosovo: Geschichte eines Konflikts (in German). Suhrkamp Verlag. ISBN 978-3-518-79620-7.
  46. ^ a b RATHFELDER, ERICH (10 March 2001). "Über die Grenze und in die Berge". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). p. 4. ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 6 September 2024. US-Sergeant Matt Solph von der KFOR-Truppe der Nato hat mit seinen Leuten am Rande des Dorfes Debelde Stellung bezogen. Er ist auf Beobachtungsposten. Hier, im Berggebiet östlich der Stadt Kacanik im Kosovo, soll sich das Zentrum der albanischen Aufständischen befinden, deren wiederholte Angriffe die makedonische Regierung um die Stabilität ihres Landes fürchten lassen.
  47. ^ Daftary, Farimah (May 2001). "TESTING MACEDONIA" (PDF). European Centre for Minority Issues. p. 2. The Macedonian government rejects reports that local ethnic Albanians from Macedonia have taken up arms to fight with the NLA while foreign observers and some ethnic Albanians in Macedonia maintain that the NLA now enjoys the support of many ethnic Albanians in Macedonia. The NLA itself claims that about 80% of its fighters are from Macedonia.
  48. ^ Pavlos I. Koktsidis (2019). "The Decision to Use Violence: Opportunity Structures and the Albanian Insurgency in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". Ethnopolitics. 18 (4): 14–15. doi:10.1080/17449057.2019.1614310. ISSN 1744-9065.
  49. ^ "BBC News – EUROPE – Macedonia sets new peace conditions". September 2001. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  50. ^ "Macedonia on brink of war", Sunday Times, 10 June 2001
  51. ^ a b c d e Grillot, Suzette (June 2004). "A Fragile Peace: Guns and Security in Post-conflict Macedonia" (PDF). smallarmssurvey.org.
  52. ^ Dnevnik. 18 март 2006: "Според изјавите на уапсениот Садула Мурати 113-та бригада броела околу 1.400 припадници кои делувале од селото Лојане до Матејче, додека од Матејче до Никуштак активности имала 114-та бригада "Фадил Нимани-Тигар", кој беше убиен во борбите во Кумановско."
  53. ^ "Macedonia: Rebels: Ethnic Albanian rebel forces near the border". newsroom.ap.org. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  54. ^ "Komandantët e UÇK-së, disa të vrarë, disa në arrati, shumica në poste". lajimpress.com (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 8 November 2019.
  55. ^ "Gezim Ostreni's new political party, "Uniteti" is now official". Meta.mk. 3 October 2015.
  56. ^ "Груевски го предложи Командант Форина од УЧК за прв човек на македонската одбрана" [Gruevski proposed Commandant Forrina from UCK as the head of Macedonian defense] (in Macedonian). Кирилица. 18 February 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013.
  57. ^ "Torture, Kidnappings by Albanians in Macedonia – Human Rights Watch". 10 August 2001. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  58. ^ "Amnesty International Report 2002 - Macedonia". Amnesty International. 28 May 2002.
  59. ^ "Eight years since the Vejce massacre". Ministry of Defence - Republic of Macedonia. Archived from the original on 22 July 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
  60. ^ "8 soldiers slain in ambush near Albanian region". Chicago Tribine. 29 April 2001. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  61. ^ "Macedonia blast hits monastery". The Guardian. 21 August 2001. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  62. ^ Fisher, Ian (21 August 2001). "Monastery in Macedonia Attacked". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  63. ^ a b c "Macedonia calls monastery attack major provocation". Shqiptarja.com (in Albanian). Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  64. ^ "Monastery blast fails to derail Nato peace effort". The Telegraph. 22 August 2001.
  65. ^ "Analysis of the Status of The Hague Cases in North Macedonia" (PDF). BIRN. December 2020.
  66. ^ "Hague Cases Returned to Macedonia". Balkan Insight. 19 February 2008.
  67. ^ "Macedonia 2002 census" (PDF). stat.gov.mk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2011.
  68. ^ Watkins, Clem S. (2003). The Balkans. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. p. 113. ISBN 1590335252.
  69. ^ a b "20 Years On, Armed Conflict's Legacy Endures in North Macedonia". Balkan Insight. 22 January 2021.
  70. ^ "NATO launches Macedonia mission". Daily Telegraph. 22 August 2001.
  71. ^ Paul Collier; Nicholas Sambanis, eds. (2005). Understanding Civil War: Europe, Central Asia, and other regions. World Bank Publications. p. 248. ISBN 9780821360507.
  72. ^ a b c d e "JANES, Who are the NLA? [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]". www.mail-archive.com. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  73. ^ "The Museum of Freedom". Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa. 21 January 2009.
  74. ^ "Macedonia: Parliament Passes General Amnesty Law". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 8 March 2002.
  75. ^ "World Briefing | Europe: Macedonia: Albanians In Gun Battle". The New York Times. 26 March 2002. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  76. ^ "MACEDONIA: Shootout in Tetovo, some of the victims identified - Shqiptarja". shqiptarja.com (in Albanian). Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  77. ^ "A shootout disrupts Macedonia's calm". ReliefWeb. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 5 April 2002.
  78. ^ "A HEAVY GUNBATTLE BROKE OUT IN AN ETHNIC ALBANIAN VILLAGE IN MACEDONIA... - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency". www.novinite.com. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  79. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1278 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  80. ^ "Кај Блаце е запленето големо количество на оружје". A1 (in Macedonian). Archived from the original on 2 May 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  81. ^ a b c "'Liberation Army' Claims it Shelled Macedonian Govt". Balkan Insight. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  82. ^ "Albanci preuzeli odgovornost za bombaške napade". BN. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  83. ^ Макфакс++ (10 December 2014). "Експлозии во близина на полициските станици во Тетово и Куманово". МАКФАКС (in Macedonian). Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  84. ^ "Eksplozije kod policijskih stanica u Tetovu i Kumanovu". Blic.rs (in Serbian). 12 October 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  85. ^ ""UÇK" ponovo preuzela odgovornost za napade na makedonske institucije". 17 December 2014.
  86. ^ "MKD: Teroristi OVK upali u karaulu" (in Serbian). B92. 21 April 2015.
  87. ^ "Plus info, Macedonia: Terrorists with National Liberation Army attack police station in Gosince". FOCUS News Agency. 21 April 2015. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  88. ^ "Armed Men With UCK Insignia Seize Macedonian Border Post Near Kosovo". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 21 April 2015.
  89. ^ Samardjiski, Aleksandar (11 May 2015). "Терористичката група целосно разбиена". Nova Makedonija. Archived from the original on 14 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  90. ^ "Macedonia Cuts Number of 'Armed Group' Members Killed in Kumanovo". novinite.com.
  91. ^ "Prokuroria konfirmon se në Kumanovë janë 10, jo 14 të vrarë". RTKlive.com.
  92. ^ "Zeka: Lista me të vrarët në Kumanovë është e pakonfirmuar". RTKlive.com.
  93. ^ "Macedonia charges 30 with terrorism after Kumanovo clashes". BBC News. 11 May 2015.
  94. ^ "Fighting Ends In Northern Macedonia". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 10 May 2015.
  95. ^ "Macedonian police killed in clashes with 'terrorists'". Independent. 10 May 2015.[dead link]

Sources

edit
edit
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to National Liberation Army (Albanians of North Macedonia).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Liberation_Army_(Macedonia)&oldid=1257613199"